Mass Effect: A Dangerous Game
by UnknownArtyom
Summary: Asher Svenson is a young Alliance Intelligence Operative, despite this he has a wealth of combat experience. After being knee deep in Geth on Eden Prime, he is rescued and recruited by Commander Shepard to help her take down Saren. The galaxy is a web of deceit woven by an invisible spider, and Asher has walked straight into it. Will he survive? (Increasingly AU)
1. Assignment: Survive

**Name and Rank: Lieutenant Asher Svenson**

 **Military Branch: Alliance Intelligence Service**

 **Role: Operative**

 **Specialisation: Vanguard**

* * *

 **Location: Eden Prime**

 **Date: September 21** **st** **2183**

I can't believe that Admiral Hackett reassigned me to do a security review for the garrison protecting the beacon, he put it down to the fact that the Alliance budget has shrunk in recent years but still it seemed like a waste of resources. I'm an Intelligence Operative, not a damn clerk or quartermaster. Still, I had sent my report to Alliance HQ as ordered and it wasn't really looking good.

I estimated that even a sizable force of pirates would be able to overwhelm the garrison and make off with the Prothean Beacon if they ever learned that it existed. Eden Prime is on the edge of the Traverse and as such you'd think that there would be large garrison on the colony but that would be a false assumption. There are only one hundred marines based on the planet with only four N School Graduates. These numbers are bolstered by an amateur three hundred strong civilian militia but it still wouldn't be sufficient to defend the colony.

I look up into the sky and truth be told, it's a gorgeous day. The Gas Bags are floating around aimlessly and the birds are chirping away happily whilst the four or five clouds that exist in the sky roll past harmlessly. I'm currently kitted out in full combat gear, a precaution that I'd begun taking after several attacks on Human colonies by pirates had been conducted in recent years. My armour is the standard Alliance Military Brand but with a higher classification, an Onyx X model with a Shield Modulator X.

My weapons are similar with the exception of my pistol, which has several names engraved in the handle as a reminder. As I graduated from the Vanguard Program, I don't carry a sniper rifle. My assault rifle is a standard Lancer X with an enlarged heat sink and an ammunition block that contains Proton Rounds. My shotgun is a Storm X which also has an enlarged heat sink with a Shredder ammunition block. Finally my pistol is a Karpov X with a Tungsten ammunition block; it is one of the most high grade pistols that you can find that isn't Spectre grade. I lifted it off of a Batarian pirate Lieutenant during _the raid._ Now it has the names of the squad on it.

Some of the other marines in the garrison looked at me as if I was crazy for routinely carrying so much firepower however; I figured that it was wiser to be ready for something that might not happen than it was to be unprepared for something that might not happen. I'm standing atop a hill and am looking down on the small village below, everyone was going about their day normally and things didn't seem to be likely to change at all. I hear footsteps behind me and I turn around slowly, I see Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams approaching me, she seemed to have taken my example and come out fully geared up.

She snaps a salute. "Lieutenant Svenson, sir! Security checks have been completed and the upgrades have been made to the defence towers." She states proudly and I raise my hand before she has an opportunity to continue.

I give a chuckle. "Carry on Williams, but from now on whilst I'm off duty just call me Asher. " I state with a smile.

She nods. "Okay Asher, well I should get back to the garrison now, just thought I should let you kn- get down!" She yells.

The surprisingly strong woman tackles me to the ground and not a moment later a large explosion goes off where I had been standing. This explosion is followed by the sound of very strange small arms fire. We both jump to our feet instantly and I see some kind of synthetics as the bottom of the hill holding what seemed to be rifles. There are two of them and I instantly pull my pistol from my left hip, Ashley draws her assault rifle and instantly fires on the mechanized unit on the left, I start firing on the robot on the right almost simultaneously and they go down within a matter of seconds.

I put my pistol back on my hip and turn to her. "Nice save Williams, we need to get back to the garrison and be ready to rally a defence if there are more of these damn things." I say but as I attempt to move, a splitting pain in my head stops me from moving a muscle.

I hear a loud bang nearby and look to the source of the noise. My jaw drops. About four miles away is a humungous ship that must be at least two kilometres tall, and somehow the thing landed! Not even an Alliance Cruiser is small enough to land in atmosphere. Shit, if that ship is connected to these things then we're outmatched technologically.

"That's a ship, how fucking big do they wanna make it?" I shout in exasperation, losing my cool for a moment.

Williams snaps me from my reverie. "Sir, we need to go now!" She shouts, I nod and we both begin running back to the base.

It only takes a few minutes, but the sight that awaits us is not a pretty one. Bodies of dead marines litter the area as fires rage in the military outpost and among the survivors that I can see; there are only ten of them. The camp has a lot of pre-fab units on the interior which are then surrounded by an outer wall, however the synthetics had managed to conquer the wall and are standing on top of it, firing on the helpless marines from the high ground. We can't enter the base without getting slaughtered from enemy fire unless I use my biotics, we also need to find a way to get rid of their height advantage. Fuck it, if I don't act now we're dead.

I have to shout twice as the intense gunfire and the numerous explosions of grenades make it difficult for me to be heard. "Williams! Stay next to me and lay down a suppressing fire, I'm going to put a barrier around us and try to get us near those marines!" I order.

She nods. "Yes sir!" She shouts over the gunfire.

I feel a familiar rush up my spine as a blue aura washes over my body, I raise both of my hands and a biotic bubble envelopes Ashley and I. I begin walking forward through the entrance to the camp and the synthetics quickly spot us and identify us as an easy target. They open fire with their rifles and I can feel the pitter patter against my barrier. There are about seven of them firing on us, so I feel the strain almost immediately and I grunt quietly as I train to maintain my focus. However my burden suddenly lessens, the other marines had gotten the hint and began laying down suppressing fire with their assault rifles which roared out mountains of metal shavings at the enemy. They managed to down all but two of the enemy troops before Ashley and I crashed into cover behind some crates next to a marine.

I waste no time trying to get a grip on the situation. "I need a status report now soldier!" I demand and the marine fires off a few bursts from his rifle at the enemy before turning back to face me. He looks young despite the fact I'm only 22, a crumpled helmet lies next to him and I can only assume it's his. He has the standard military buzz cut and hardly a wrinkle on him. His deep blue eyes look almost pleading.

"Corporal Jarvis reporting sir, the damn synths came out of nowhere and attacked the garrison! We've tried calling for reinforcements from the other side of the planet but they've set up a jamming rig at the spaceport and we don't have enough men to get to it. The rig is blocking all long distance communications. Short distance still works though." He summarizes and I let out a curse before punching the dirt.

I regain my composure quickly. "What happened to Commander Singh? How many men do you have that can fight?" I ask urgently.

The young marine hums for a moment and from the lack of gunfire, I can tell we'd won for now. "Commander Singh was killed in the first attack along with all of the other higher ranks in the garrison. We only have nine survivors of the 212 left sir, that's not enough to assault the spaceport." He explains hopelessly.

Ashley looks at me grimly. "He's right LT, not enough firepower to get there but if we don't then we can't get reinforcements anyway and we're still screwed. Looks like a no-win situation." She says, appraising the situation and I merely nod.

I place a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smile under my helmet. "Don't worry Jarvis, we're gonna get out of this. Chief Williams, as the highest ranking Alliance Solider here other than myself, you're in charge of the remainder of the 212." I command, feeling apprehension at what I'm about to suggest.

She immediately interjects. "Sir, what do you mean?" She asks.

I point behind me. "I'm heading to the spaceport, I'm gonna try and bring down the jamming rig so we can call in some reinforcements. Hold this position and set your radio to channel Theta Seven. I'll stay in radio contact, good luck Williams." I say, hoping I was doing the right thing.

She looks down at the ground before looking at me. "Yes sir...I'll get it done." She responds with renewed vigour. "Just, be careful." She adds softly.

I sigh in relief. "I'm always careful Williams; I'll see you on the other side." I say before running off through the entrance that we came in from.

I know the way to the spaceport as I'd memorized a map of the local area shortly after arriving at the garrison; one of the first things I was taught upon joining intelligence was to know everything there is to know about the environment you're working in. I just hope that Ashley can keep those marines safe because this definitely has the potential to be a one way trip. Also, it was looking likely that the enemy we're fighting are Geth. In hindsight I should have realized earlier, I mean do I know of any other race of damn synthetics that are known for wiping out organic life? No. Not really. This is deeply unsettling though, the Geth haven't been seen outside the Veil for nearly three hundred years and this can only be interpreted as an act of war. A war against an enemy that has had that much time to prepare doesn't fill me with hope and I feel my stomach drop at the thought. The Alliance would surely lose if we fought them alone; even if we fought alongside the Turians our chances were probably slim.

I pull my pistol off of my hip as I break into a sprint, dodging a formation of rocks by side stepping to the right as I do so. I need to get to this jamming rig fast, those marines aren't going to last forever if I don't get a move on. I'm forced to stop running and dive to my right behind a tree as a round comes extremely close to slamming into my head. I lean with my back against the trunk of the tree as adrenaline begins to crash through my veins and assault rifle fire immediately begins to eat away at my cover; I peak out of cover and see four 'Geth' bearing down on my position. I slam my pistol onto my hip and switch out to my assault rifle in record time.

For fuck sake, I knew I should've joined C-Sec, but no. Join the military they said, it's a better life they said.

I lean out of cover and peer down the sight, the four Geth are in a standard line formation, I open fire on the trooper on the far right and with one prolonged burst it goes down however, almost immediately the remaining Geth turn to me and open fire. Gunfire starts to eat away at my shields and they drop to 30% before I can get back into cover. I turn out of cover again, holding my rifle with my left hand, a biotic aura forms around my right hand and I launch it forward. This throws two of the troopers backwards and allows me to open fire on the only Geth that is still on its feet, I cut it down within seconds. I shoot the two Geth on the floor into pieces before they can get back up and renew the fight.

Static starts to build on my radio. " _You need to get moving LT, we just got hit by another wave and I don't know how much longer we can hold out!"_ Ashley yells, her shout is then cut off by an explosion in the background.

"Williams! Ashley, do you copy?" I shout but nothing comes through and the line goes dead.

Shit! That didn't sound good but I need to keep moving. If we even have a chance of calling in reinforcements, we need to get communications back online.

It's only a short way to the spaceport after my skirmish with the Geth squad and I continue moving, hefting my rifle and sweeping from left to right as I stalk forwards up a hill. Eventually, I reach the hilltop that overlooks the spaceport and the sight that greets me is not a happy one. It's carnage. A squad of seven colonial militiamen are trying to hold off about fifteen Geth that are slowly encroaching on their position.

Looks like the militia are trying to get the jammer offline too. I need to step in and help, as I take my first step to carefully move down the hill I look up and see a militiamen go down from a perfect headshot by a Geth sniper. They need a diversion.

I run down the hill and crash into cover next so some crates and the Geth forces still hadn't noticed me. I spring out of cover and pepper the Geth positions with sustained rifle fire and I manage to bring down three of the synthetic soldiers that were clustered together before they turn their fire onto me. The volume of fire is devastating and my shields drop almost instantly as the majority of the twelve remaining troopers' fire on me, I feel a thud and then a sharp pain in my left shoulder which causes me to let out and small shout of pain, and makes me to fall back behind the crate.

Damn synthetics nailed me in the shoulder. I take out some medi-gel and apply it to the wound so that it can stem the bleeding and dull the throbbing pain that's starting to develop. I grunt in pain and I know that my left shoulder's now out of commission. I put my assault rifle on the small of my back and bring out my pistol; I peer out of cover again and see that my sudden appearance had distracted the Geth enough for the militia to take down a few of them, leaving the once sizable Geth force of fifteen to a more survivable number of seven.

I hear two bloodcurdling screams and see that two more of the militiamen had been caught in an explosion. I grit my teeth and see that my shields had recharged, I pull out my pistol and flare my biotics, wrapping myself in a protective barrier. I come out cover again and spot a Geth trooper toting a rocket launcher. I immediately set my sights on it and fire seven shots from my pistol into it, four of them take down the shields and the other three are distributed with two in the chest and one in the flashlight head. I feel several rounds crash against my barrier, but they don't even make it past the biotic barrier to get to my shields. I get back into cover and drop the biotic barrier immediately.

Keeping that barrier up is tiring! Especially after creating a large one to protect myself and Williams earlier, I pop out again as the colonists skirmish with the troopers and I flare biotics in both of my hands. I lift two troopers into the air with my mind and they are cut down by my comrades, I then quickly pop back into cover behind the crate. There should be four of them left protecting the rig, judging by the amount of scrap metal is littering the ground I expect there were a lot more Geth here originally than the fifteen that were here when I turned up.

I hear a high pitched whine and another trooper goes down to a lucky pistol shot from a colonist. To my horror, one of the Geth throws a grenade directly onto the barricade that the colonists had set up.

"Grenade!" I shout, but an instant later it explodes and rips through all six of them, leaving me as the only man left fighting.

Fuck! How many more people are we gonna lose to these synths? I flick my own grenade off of my belt and throw it blindly behind my cover, not wanting to risk getting overwhelmed by rifle fire. It detonates and I hear more metallic shrieks. I come out of cover and see that only one Geth soldier remains. I use a biotic lift which suspends it in the air, finishing it off with several shots from my pistol. It eventually lands on the ground in a pile of twisted and broken metal.

I walk slowly over to the jamming rig and survey it, the thing is about six feet tall. A couple of grenades detonated at once should be enough to destroy it. I have three grenades left, and I attach all three of them to the structure, making sure to spread them out nicely. Better retreat to a safe distance, I don't want to die by blowing myself up.

I step back twenty paces and press the detonator. The result is a huge explosion which rips the rig apart and sends debris spewing in all directions; the affect is felt immediately as I begin to hear comm traffic coming through my helmet.

" _Calling any Alliance Military Personnel in the area, this is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212th Marine Division! Eden Prime has been attacked by an unknown enemy; we are taking heavy casualties and need immediate reinforcements- Get down!"_ I hear her words in my helmet and breathe a sigh of relief, but also mixed with dread at the sounds of battle surrounding her.

Okay, the jamming rig is gone. Now time to regroup with the 212 and try to secure that beacon, god I hope the Alliance sends reinforcements in time.

I raise my pistol and roll my left shoulder. No time to waste. I run back up the hill as fast as my tired legs will carry me and towards the sound of multiple gunshots and explosions that ravage the once beautiful planet of Eden Prime.

Please be alive Williams...

 **AN: Hey guys, I'm back with a new OC insert. Just a warning, this story will contain a lot of death and dark themes but that's not say it will solely be dark. Next time we will see if Asher can get to the survivors of the 212 in time to assist them against the Geth advance.**

 **If you have any questions feel free to PM them to me. I'll take this story forward if it gets a good enough response, any favourites, follows and reviews are much appreciated and help keep these stories going. Thank you and goodnight folks!**


	2. Assignment: Regroup

I raise my pistol and fire four shots into one Geth trooper, striking it three times in the chest and once in the head. I've been pinned down behind a blown up Mako for the last fifteen minutes as a group of around twelve flanked me and began to rain hellfire on my position. I managed to bring down five of them however, they've managed to keep me pinned down with suppressing fire.

I bring up my left hand and enshroud myself in a biotic barrier before twisting out of cover and firing off a maelstrom of shots into a Geth trooper that was stupid enough to advance past the firing column of its comrades. I then draw on the energy from my barrier and convert it into a lift that sends two of the Geth climbing into the air. An orb flares in my hands and I thrust my hand outwards, launching a warp at the suspended synthetics. Upon contact the orb destabilises the lift and causes a huge biotic explosion that rips the two tin cans into shreds, causing shrapnel to rain down ceremoniously across the battlefield.

Have that you murdering bastards! Too many civilians have died today for me to not fight my heart out.

Suddenly, one of the troopers brandishes a rocket launcher and fires; I don't have time to dive out of the way so I quickly create the strongest barrier I can manage. The rocket strikes my barrier, and my body is sent soaring through the air like a bird. My back hits the ground first, causing me to arch it upwards in pain. A grunt of agony escapes my lips and I stare up into the now blood red sky of Eden Prime. Smoke is billowing into the air from burning buildings and disturbing screams can be heard in the distance as well as gunfire although, the sounds are distorted and muffled. My breathing becomes erratic and I sit up slightly despite the pain, all of the Geth have raised their rifles to finish me. I try to reach for my pistol but find that it's fallen about three metres away from me.

So this is how it ends? On a planet that was previously labelled a paradise, killed by Geth? At least now that the jamming rig is down, the marines and the colonial militia can call for reinforcements and beat back the Geth offensive. I've had a short but eventful life at twenty-two years old, first there was my life in Oslo back on Earth, then there was joining the Alliance and specialising as a Vanguard after my basic training, then my deployment to _that_ moon with the marines on the SSV Kokoda, following that Admiral Hackett recommended me for the Intelligence Service...now I'm here.

I accept my fate, staring into the flashlight heads of my enemies, daring them to pull the trigger. The thud of gunfire against my body never comes. Suddenly, two huge charges of electricity arc across the remaining group of five troopers and the familiar sounds of a sniper rifle echoes through the air twice, two of the Geth fall to the floor missing their flashlights. I sit up and combat roll to the right, grabbing my pistol and firing seven shots into the synthetic on my left, destroying it in a hail of microscopic metal shavings. The final two are lifted off the ground by a biotic field that wasn't of my doing, despite this I throw a warp into the field and cause another biotic explosion that vaporises the final two enemies.

I take a few seconds to recover as my ragged breathing takes over from the adrenaline I was just feeling. I then turn to see who had helped me and I see two helmeted figures in full combat armour however, I spot one thing that makes me smile broadly. On the armour one of the soldiers who from their body shape I can determine is female there is the N7 symbol proudly emblazoned on her chest. I begin walking up to them. I stop halfway and holster my pistol.

I roll my shoulders and work out some aches before speaking. "Thanks for the assist, looks like destroying the jamming rig managed to get the cavalry to arrive. Lieutenant Asher Svenson, Alliance Intelligence." I say, introducing myself to them.

The N7 is the one who speaks. "I'm Commander Alina Shepard and this is Staff Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko. We received an emergency communication from the 212th Marine Division. I need a status report now." She demands.

Fuck, Commander Shepard is here? The _Lioness of Elysium,_ thank god command decided to send in the cavalry on this one.

I nod. "Yes ma'am. I was deployed by Admiral Hackett to do a security review of the garrison that was designated to protect the Prothean beacon that was unearthed. I determined that even a sizable pirate force could capture it if they found out, the reality was worse though. The enemy we're fighting, they're Geth, Commander." I say, trying to keep an even tone.

She doesn't speak for a few seconds, and then crosses her arms. "Do you know where the beacon has been taken Svenson?" She asks hopefully.

I shake my head. "No ma'am, all I know is that the Geth likely have it now." I state calmly, not betraying my nerves and sense of dread.

She sighs. "Understood, we're going ahead to try and take back the beacon. Stay safe, you're exhausted, head to the colonial bunkers." She offers.

I scoff. "With all due respect Commander, these synthetics slaughtered my unit and countless civilians, I want to come with you and take the fight to them. I can still fight." I snarl, I never normally lost my cool like this but losing so many civilians had angered me beyond my normal range.

She pauses for a few moments. "Okay Svenson, but you follow my orders to the letter, none of that lone wolf bullshit. I don't like you spooks, you play pretty much outside the law and get innocent people killed." She says, her voice carrying a razor edge sharper than any knife.

I'm shocked. "Yes Commander." I utter, barely avoiding the embarrassment of stumbling on my words.

She pulls an assault rifle off of her back. "Let's get moving then." She finishes with a cold tone in her voice.

I take out my pistol again and begin slowly advancing next to the two Alliance soldiers, the one who was introduced as Alenko looked tense and his body betrayed this completely with the way his hands are tightly gripping his pistol as we slowly walk forward, sweeping our weapons from left to right, and watching for ambushes. In complete contrast to this Shepard is almost completely loose, it looks like she is barely even holding her weapon at times and still she looks absolutely lethal.

I've fought Batarian Special Intervention Unit soldiers before and even they didn't strike me as much as this woman does right now. She has the deadly calm aura of a predator, waiting to strike.

We continue moving forward for a few minutes until we reach a tree line and out of nowhere six of the Geth's recon drones advance towards us rapidly. I flare my biotics and catch two of them in a throw that smashes them against the trees, causing them to explode viciously. Shepard follows immediately with her assault rifle, she fires two bursts from her assault rifle and she manages to nail two of the drones that were getting close to her.

Damn, I knew she was good, but she barely even aimed for them!

Alenko uses a pull to bring one of the drones towards him slowly; he takes advantage of this and nails it with repeated shots from his pistol. In this time, the Commander finishes off the last drone with a prolonged burst from her rifle.

Shepard turns to us. "Asher, you take point considering you know this colony better than us." She demands, leaving no room for agreement and I simply nod in compliance.

Alenko follows slightly behind me. "You seem to be a fine soldier Svenson, how come you switched to intelligence?" I know what he's saying is a compliment but the thought of why I actually did accept Hacketts offer causes something to trigger in me.

I take a deep breath, trying to keep my sudden anger in check. "Alenko, it was for personal reasons. I like to keep my personal life personal." I answer, with no calm in my voice anymore.

He sighs. "Okay, forget I asked." He replies meekly, seemingly crestfallen.

I nod, now feeling awful. I can't keep letting the mere thought of what happened on the Kokoda rule me like it is now.

I hear gunfire ahead, the others do too and we advance forward with more speed. We reach the top of a small hill and I can see a woman in pink and white armour running away from multiple recon drones. No way, it can't be.

She stumbles and falls, still managing to destroy the drones with several shots from her pistol whilst she's falling. Then, multiple Geth troopers advance on her position and I count seven before I begin running down the hill, Alenko follows me whist the Commander stays back, having pulled her sniper rifle from her back.

Alenko opens his Omni-Tool and a large shock of electricity hits two of the Geth, allowing the unknown marine to turn around from the rock she was taking cover behind and drop them with copious amounts of assault rifle fire. I slam my back into the rock standing next to her and manage to get a look at her face.

"Ashley, it's good to see you!" I shout and she turns to look at me.

Her expression shows shock. "Asher? I thought you'd died! I couldn't raise you on the radio!" She exclaims and I nod.

I come out of cover to see two Geth have their 'heads' ripped off following the booms of two sniper rifle shots. I use a lift on two of the remaining three Geth, which suspends them in the air. This only lasts for a moment as Alenko releases a primal roar and uses a powerful throw on the helpless synthetics which slams them into some rocks, utterly crushing them and allowing all four of us to open fire on the final Geth trooper, absolutely ripping it apart in a storm of pistol, assault rifle and sniper fire. When it collapses to the ground, it is little more than a heap of scrap.

The Commander comes down from her perch and approaches us, or more specifically Ashley.

She doesn't even holster her weapon before she starts speaking. "I need a status report, now." She demands and I'm still shocked by Shepard's abrupt and demanding nature, of course in interviews she seemed to be kind and caring, but here in the battlefield she seems to be a different person.

Ashley puts a hand to her head. "Yes ma'am, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212th Marine Division, oh god. We were caught off guard when the Geth hit, we couldn't send for reinforcements as they'd set up a jamming rig at the spaceport ahead. Asher- I mean Lieutenant Svenson went alone to destroy it, and he succeeded.

After that I called for reinforcements but it came too late, the Geth ambushed the remainder of my unit with heavy infantry and light vehicles. I'm the only one left..." She explains, trailing off at the end.

Fuck...everyone gone? I promised Jarvis we'd get out alive. Shit! It's the same thing every time.

Shepard pauses before speaking again. "I see, we'll take it from here Williams." She says icily and I shake my head.

I bring up the nerve to speak. "Commander, with all due respect I think we should bring Williams with us. She's a good soldier and we could use another person with skills in multiple weapons. I'm restricted to a pistol for now and Alenko seems to never use anything else. No offence." I say and Alenko shakes his head while the Commander makes a humming sound.

She nods. "Okay. I see your point, but if she screws up it's your ass Svenson." She says bitterly and I nod in understanding.

Ashley interjects. "I won't let you or him down Commander." She announces with newfound confidence.

Shepard just scoffs. "See to it that you don't, let's move out to the dig site." She orders and we all follow suit.

Ashley and I take the front, with Alenko and the Commander brining up the rear. If I survive this, I intend to find out why there is such a huge difference between Shepard's demeanour now and what she seems to be normally. All soldiers change under fire, but this is an extreme difference.

We continued without any resistance for a long time, and it became evident that the Geth had moved the beacon from the dig site. The Commander thusly ordered us to advance to the spaceport; she's every bit as lethal as she's been made out to be. I haven't seen her miss with her sniper rifle yet.

We make it to the spaceport and I can see why we hadn't seen any resistance before now, the Geth had all congregated at this area and there was about thirty of them. Thankfully, they hadn't spotted us yet.

"We can't take them all out in a straight up fight without casualties. Do you have any ideas Commander?" Alenko asks and she scans the area frantically and gives a low, dangerous laugh.

She points towards some fuel tanks. "Alenko, if you overload those things they're gonna blow. Wait for my signal. Svenson, move in undetected and pounce on the Geth with your biotics in the confusion. Williams and I will cause chaos with our sniper rifles." She outlines and I can't lie, it's the best plan we can get in the circumstances.

"I'll get it done." I say.

"Affirmative Commander." Alenko confirms.

"Yes ma'am." Ashley whispers.

I move forward slowly, hugging an outcropping of rock that leads down the hill and keeps me out of sight of the enemy troopers. If they spot me and open fire on me, my barrier won't even last for two seconds before I'm turned into Swiss cheese. I come to a point next to one of the ramps in the spaceport that will allow to vault onto the platform that the Geth are on. I hear something like the sounds a damaged terminal would make. My heart is beating much faster and I activate my radio.

I breathe in as I activate the audio filters in my armour, meaning my voice won't carry outside of my helmet. "Commander, I'm in position. You can start the barbeque in your own time." I say, joking slightly.

I see Alenko moving. "Roger that, stand by." She says, not even acknowledging my attempt at humour.

A moment later all hell breaks loose, seven explosions rip through the space port, the explosion is deafening and causes me to stumble slightly and debris scatters everywhere, some of it even lands on me. I coat myself in a biotic barrier and vault over the top onto the platform, taking in the carnage as soon as I get up there. I quickly count the amount of remaining Geth that are stumbling to their feet. There are ten of them, two booms ring out and the number drops to eight, Shepard and Ashley drilled them both with their rifles, two more booms sound out as I dive into cover behind a crate and the number drops to six. I peer out behind the crate and see three troopers advancing on my position; however they are lifted up in the air using the power of biotics, it wasn't me doing it. Alenko storms into position next to me. I create a warp field in my hand and throw it at the suspending Geth, causing a detonation that tears them to shreds and leaves only four remaining. We both combine our pistol fire to bring another one down, cutting the number down to three.

I shout. "Throw!" Alenko gets the message and we both hit the remaining three troopers with a throw that slams them against the wreckage of the fuel tanks and destroys them completely.

Silence reigns over the battlefield and I realise that I'm panting heavily; it looks like the strain of overusing my biotics is finally starting to get to me. I open my Omni-Tool and press a button that activates the stimulant pack in my armour; this causes me to immediately begin feeling more energetic again. I look up to the hill and I see Shepard talking with some colonists at the top of the hill.

Noticing an opportunity, I turn to Alenko.

I cough, before turning off my audio filters. "Alenko, about before...the reason that I joined the Intelligence Service is very traumatic for me. It still haunts me, I'm sorry for snapping at you." I say sincerely and he nods at that.

He extends a hand. "Don't worry about it Svenson, I understand what that's like. No hard feelings...although the comment about me only using a pistol..." He remarks teasingly and we both chuckle.

I take the Lieutenants hand and shake it, solidifying what we'd just said. A moment later, Shepard comes down with a look of rage plastered on her face, helmet forgotten. If it wasn't for the fact she was pissed off, I'd say she was stunning. She has shoulder length red hair that perfectly frames her emerald green eyes. She storms up to me and points at the body of a dead Turian on the ground.

She grabs me by the arm. "I can see that the wound in Nihlus head was not done by a Geth plasma weapon and you were at the spaceport earlier. Did you fucking kill Nihlus?" She snarls, jabbing her finger into my chest.

The only thing I can think before anger overwhelms me is, 'what the fuck is going on?'

 **AN: Hey guys, I'm here bringing you another chapter. Thanks for all the follows and favourites as well as the reviews on the last chapter, it really got me driven to get this chapter out for you. I will also be answering some reviews and addressing issues brought up. If you enjoyed it please leave a review, follow and favourite, it really helps me get these out quicker. Thank you and PEACE.**

 **Masterdude94: It's possible that Hackett didn't expect there to actually be a threat to the beacon as it was kept top secret and any outbound communications from Eden Prime were monitored before the Geth jammed them. Also, sending a fleet would cost a lot of money and arouse suspicion, with budget cuts and the possibility of provoking the Batarians if they mobilized a fleet, it wouldn't make sense to send that large of a force.**

 **General-Joseph-Dickson: I plan for the effects of Eden Prime on Ashley to become clearer later on than to have it thrown out into the open immediately but believe me, it will play a huge role in shaping her character, more so than it did in canon.**

 **Anon: Oh believe me, they will.**

 **Fullbreaker: Thank you, much appreciated.**


	3. Assignment: Save The Colony

I stare down the Commander, trying my hardest not to lash out verbally. "What the hell are you talking about Shepard?" I demand, my voice betraying the confusion that I'm feeling.

She shoots me a savage glare. "You heard me; the Geth didn't kill the Turian. His wounds are inconsistent with plasma weaponry. The only people we know to have visited the spaceport are you and the colonial militia. Do you think a bunch of amateurs could take down a Spectre? Not to mention they're all dead." She deduces, and I notice Alenko's hand shift towards his pistol.

I shake my head and continue to look at her defiantly. "Are you really that damn paranoid Commander? I know you don't like us in Intelligence but what do we stand to gain by assassinating a Council Spectre?" I ask angrily.

She takes out her assault rifle and aims it squarely at me. "That's what you're going to tell me, unless you want to breathe through a new hole in your head." She threatens.

Alenko stiffens as I rapidly bring out my handgun and aim it at Shepard, coupled with the flaring of my biotics, it causes him to draw his own weapon and aim it at me. "Commander, stand down. I didn't kill the damn Turian!" I exclaim in frustration.

The standoff continues until I hear movement behind a bunch of crates. I whip my pistol around, just stopping myself from firing as a human emerges.

He quickly raises his hands in surrender. "Wait, don't shoot, I'm human! Your friend is telling the truth, he didn't kill the Turian!" He screams.

I make a silent prayer and Shepard quickly interjects. "Then who did?" She demands harshly and the man visibly recoils.

He's practically shaking as he speaks. "My name's Powell, I saw everything. Your Turian friend was talking with another Turian, he responded to the name Saren. Your friend seemed to relax and let his guard down, then Saren shot him in the back, just killed him." He says hurriedly, hardly pausing for breath.

Shepard stiffens. "Did you see where he went?" She asks, in a slightly less aggressive tone.

He shakes his head. "No, but I saw where the Geth took the beacon. They transported it using the tramline; it's on the other side of the spaceport." He explains and we nod.

Shepard nods. "Got it, let's move people!" She orders.

I let out a breath that I didn't even realize I was holding and move up with the squad, it's the same formation as we previously used with Ashley and I at the front, with Kaiden and Shepard bringing up the rear. Suddenly, my radio sparks to life and I hear a voice.

" _Svenson, its Shepard. I'm sorry about accusing you of killing Nihlus, I was wrong."_

She doesn't even look at me, or acknowledge me after sending the message over radio. She probably doesn't want the others knowing that she even apologized. We head down the stairs towards the tram line and suddenly, all hell breaks loose.

An explosion next to me sends me flying into the railing on my left, I feel the air get pushed out of my lungs upon impact and it causes Alenko to get knocked onto his back. I fall to the ground and my breathing becomes laboured as I struggle to get oxygen into my lungs. I see Ashley and Shepard firing at a group of Geth at the other side of the walkway with their assault rifles. Suddenly, a huge Geth, bigger than any I'd previously seen fires four rockets at our position. _Shit!_ I quickly raise a barrier around us and all four of the projectiles slam into it with overwhelming power, each hit sends a painful shock up along my spine.

I pull myself up against a barricade and try to recover; I then notice the visor of my helmet has a huge crack running along the middle of it, obscuring my vision. Looks like, I don't have any more use for this. I rip the helmet off my head and throw it over to the side; the cool air on my face is a welcome feeling after the heat and the rush of battle. I spin around the corner with my pistol; every squad member is focusing their fire on the big guy.

Shepard points at Alenko. "Alenko, hit that thing with an overload and I'll do the same, Svenson, try and lift it with your biotics! Ashley, I want you to keep hitting it with as much fire as you can put down range!" She orders and we all nod.

Alenko and Shepard both open up their Omni-Tools and hit the large Geth with simultaneous overloads whilst Ashley is still firing controlled bursts at it with her rifle. Its shields eventually drop, but I take three hits to my own shields by the other, smaller Geth surrounding it. I still remain out of cover and draw on as much power as I can to lift the behemoth with my mind. Slowly, it starts to climb in the air and I feel fatigue beginning to take its toll, I can feel the blood trickling out of my nose. I grunt and continue anyway, eventually my squad focuses weapon fire on the Geth, and the killing blow is struck by Alenko. He uses his biotics to viciously slam down the large synthetic, causing it to crumple and explode violently into hundreds of pieces. I fall back behind cover as the squad mops up the remaining, smaller Geth forces.

I wipe my nose and close my eyes for a second.

" _Don't fall asleep on the job kid, it'll get you killed!"_ The voice causes me to jump back onto my feet. Lieutenant Anaheim? No...She's dead Asher, let it go!

I walk with the squad to the controls for the tram-line and lean against the railing. Why am I hearing Anaheim's voice again? I thought I'd put those ghosts behind me after my first lone wolf assignment. I place my pistol back on my hip and stare up into the burning red sky, how can this be happening? Am I awake, or am I asleep? I shake my head as the tram begins to move.

I feel a hand on my shoulder; I turn to me left and see the Commander looking at me with a gentle expression. "Stay with me Svenson, I need you at your best." She says softly and I'm stunned into silence. I simply nod.

What the hell was that? Why has her attitude just completely shifted? I dismiss the train of thought as I can see the other side of the spaceport in the distance. It takes us seven more seconds to come to a standstill and I notice a shape, accompanied by a familiar beeping that puts me on high alert.

I point at the large device in front of the stairs next to us. "Demolition charges, the Geth must have set them up to destroy the colony!" I shout and Shepard nods.

She points at Alenko. "Alenko, disarm this one. I'll take Svenson and Williams and sweep the area ahead, see if we can find any more of them." She commands.

Kaiden salutes. "Yes ma'am." He responds and goes to work on ending the device in front of him.

Shepard takes the lead and charges up the stairs, with Ashley and I following closely behind. I instantly take in the details of the area, multiple pieces of cover that separates us from Geth fire on the other side of the spaceport, connecting us to that side is a single bridge with one crate on it and the Geth are dug in on the other side. I count four regular troopers, one white trooper and another that's holding a...shit! Sniper!

I push Shepard to the ground as the red laser paints her armour. "Sniper!" I shout.

The Geth changes its target and fires at me once, I take a glancing blow that rips through my shields and causes the shot to tear through the very edge of my abdomen. I give a shout of pain and fall behind a crate; in this time my suit has already started dispensing medi-gel to the wound so that it can stem the bleeding. I hear several bursts of rifle fire from our side and as I turn out of cover with my pistol raised, I see the sniper and another trooper slump the ground.

Ashley looks down at me. "Asher, you okay?" She shouts, concern lacing her tone.

I stand up with a grunt of effort. "Yeah, I'm fine, let's get these bastards back." I say grimly.

She nods and switches to her sniper rifle, mimicking Shepard who had done so a moment earlier. Ashley fires a shot at the white trooper who we had determined to be some kind of Shock Trooper. Its shields break, but it is undamaged...until Shepard nails it in the head with a shot from her rifle. In this time Alenko had finished disarming the first bomb and rushed past us to diffuse the second one. I see one of the remaining three troopers as I spin out of cover and feel a thud, I fire at it with my pistol and I manage to bring its shields down with three shots, my fourth penetrates its head and fifth slams into its chest, causing it to fall to the ground, inactive.

Alenko and Shepard overload the final two, leaving them vulnerable to the combined gunfire of the entire squad that rips them to pieces. Before I know it, they both sprint off in different directions, looking for the last of the demolition charges.

I walk over the bridge slowly and lean against the wall, it's weird, and I feel really lightheaded all of a sudden. Shepard walks over to me, presumably having diffused the last of the demolition charges. I smile at her; however she does not return it. In fact, she looks at me with an expression of horror. I look down at my stomach and see that blood is practically leaking from my armour and it seems like my medi-gel stores have been depleted as the bleeding isn't stopping. I cough and slump to the ground, my eyes looking into the angry red sky of the planet. I cough again and blood covers my hand.

I can no longer hear very well and I try to think, when did I get hit like this? Then it hits me, I spun out cover to engage the remaining three troopers, I felt a thud then. It must have been a round hitting me.

I hear muffled shouting and what sounds like Shepard.

"-Need a med-evac now! Alenko, try and stabilize him, Ashley come with me to the beacon!" She shouts and they both disappear.

Alenko then grips my hand and applies medi-gel to my stomach however, it only barely stops the bleeding and I begin to feel darkness taking hold of me.

He squeezes my hand tightly and I'm brought back slightly. "Hold on Svenson, we've got a medical team coming. You're going to be okay." He says reassuringly.

I feel myself slipping away even further as black spots enter my vision, growing larger and larger. Eventually, the darkness takes me...

* * *

 _Corporal Asher Svenson_

 _Date: 5_ _th_ _November 2180_

 _Location: Uncharted Moon_

 _I load my ammunition block into my assault rifle and fix my helmet onto my head. The familiar sound of the helmet pressurizing is a welcome sound and the HUD displaying my vital signs and those of my team lights up across my vision. Our objective is to disable the anti-air defences of the Batarian pirate base on this moon. We've been deployed from the SSV Kokoda as an initial strike force, once we disable the guns they'll call in the cavalry. Everyone from Bravo Six is here in the shuttle with me._

 _Bravo Six-One- Lieutenant Samantha Anaheim, a beautiful yet tough woman with shoulder length blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. She's slightly taller than me and has an extremely muscular tone. She completed her training as an Infiltrator and has recently been recommended for the N program._

 _Bravo Six-Two- Operations Chief David Ashcroft, a no-nonsense old school marine. He doesn't talk much unless he absolutely has to. He's a huge man standing at around six foot and six inches, built like a brick in terms of muscle mass. If there's a weapon that exists, he can fire it. He's also the team's demolition expert._

 _Bravo Six-Three-Sergeant James Reeves, a confident, loud mouthed biotic who has an uncanny ability to find trouble and then smash his way through it using his mind. We're about the same height, his hair is long and unkempt, making him look more like a caveman than a soldier, and his superiors always give him a hard time about it._

 _Bravo Six-Four- Corporal Jane Ramirez, an incredibly gifted sniper who hardly ever misses her target. I've only ever seen her miss once and that was when she did it on purpose, she's very short and nobody in the squad misses a chance to tease her about it, she then reminds them that she can kill them from any distance. Her hair is fairly short and kept in a pixie cut with green dye run through it._

 _Then there's me. Bravo Six-Five, Corporal Asher Svenson . I'm a newly recruited addition to Bravo Six; they needed a new Vanguard after their last member got killed in a firefight. It was definitely a morbid way to join up. I'd only finished my training as a Vanguard three weeks prior to this. I've only completed two operations with them so far._

 _Suddenly, gunfire starts to impact the shuttle, causing it to shake and rock intensely. I'm thrown against the side and if it wasn't for my helmet I'd probably pick up a concussion. Anaheim moves to the shuttle pilot purposefully._

 _She bangs the side of the shuttle. "What's going on here Davis? There wasn't meant to be any resistance!" She demands and suddenly I'm thrown to the floor of the shuttle by an explosion._

 _The pilot shouts back. "We've taken a hit from a rocket, we're going down hard!" He shouts and before I know it, we slam into the ground hard and I hit my head, knocking myself out._

 _I cough repeatedly and open my eyes; I'm staring up at the starry sky of the moon. We must've been shot down on the way to our LZ. I turn to my side and see the shuttle is indeed in flames and twisted into an almost unrecognizable shape. The flames cast a ghostly shadow over the ravine that we'd crashed in and the smoke limits visibility to near zero. My visor has a crack in the plastic layer which limits my vision, thankfully the second layer of the visor hadn't cracked or I wouldn't be breathing right now. I turn to the other side and my blood runs cold, I see a squad of Batarian pirates sweeping through the wreckage. Ashcroft, Reeves and Ramirez are all scattered around beneath their feet. One of the pirates raises his rifle and places a burst into the head of Ramirez, killing her. Ashcroft leaps to his feet and tries to plunge his knife into the chest of her killer, only to have it ripped from his grasp and plunged into his own throat. He falls to the ground and begins to bleed out. Reeves swings his arm outwards and uses a throw to launch the pirates away from him, they're sent sprawling to the ground in a heap however, a sniper that was hiding behind a rock fires two shots at him, the first penetrates his barrier and the second rips through his skull; killing him instantly._

 _I know I'm next and I accept my fate, but then I hear the familiar crack of high powered rifle. I open my eyes and see the Batarian sniper fall to the ground, lifeless. Then, a grenade explodes on the group of pirates that are still on the floor from Reeves' biotic attack, it kills them all. I look to my right and see Anaheim limping towards me, she stows her sniper rifle onto her back and towers over me._

 _She extends her hand. "Don't fall asleep on the job kid, it'll get you killed!" She says._

 _I accept her hand she hauls me to my feet. "What's the plan now LT? We have no support and once the pirates stop getting reports from the dead recon team, they'll know we survived." I say grimly._

 _She nods. "That's true; we have to distance ourselves from the wreckage of the shuttle. We'll go the long way around to reach the generators that power the AA guns, which should take us away from their patrol routes. After that, you'll have to sneak over to the while I provide overwatch. Take the charges from Ashcroft and put them to good use, you'll need to beat feet out of there quick to escape." She explains and I nod._

 _I take a deep breath. "Okay, let's do it." I say nervously._

* * *

"Doctor, Doctor Chakwas, I think he's waking up!" I hear a familiar voice shout...

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys, another chapter in record time for me. I'm really enjoying writing this as you can probably tell. This chapter you got to see the end of Eden Prime as well as managing to get some insight as to what happened on the SSV Kokoda that changed Asher and made him the Alliance Operative that he is now. Thanks for all the support guys, any reviews are appreciated. Once again, thank you, please rate and review. Peace and Love to you all. Also, I will be putting a poll up on my profile that will help determine something big in the story, so check that out if you can.**

 **Masterdude94: Yeah she is, there's a reason for it though that will be explored later. Thanks for the Review!**

 **General-joseph-dickson: She is indeed but like I said the reasons why will be explored thoroughly later on, surely the Lioness of Elysium can't be a heartless renegade for no reason right? Thanks for the Review.**

 **Fullbreaker: Thanks for your review.**


	4. Assignment: Politics

I groan with pain as a searing fire rushes through my abdomen, I force my eyes open and unlike most ships I've served on I don't feel pain and I don't force them shut again. It seems like whatever ship I'm on, has a lower level of lighting than any other ship I've served on. I take in my surroundings and I see an older woman, presumably a doctor checking me over. She turns to a monitor next to my bed and takes in the information on the screen for a moment before turning back to me.

She smiles warmly. "Good to see that you're awake Lieutenant; you gave us a real scare down there." She says coolly.

I shake my head and clutch my side as I sit upright. "Really, how bad was I doctor?" I ask morbidly.

She chuckles. "Nothing too severe really, a plasma round pierced your armour and went through your abdomen. It missed all of your internal organs but caused moderate bleeding, that combined with the overuse of your biotic amp caused you to lose consciousness. Lieutenant Alenko carried you to the ship." She explains and I nod.

I pause for a moment, thinking about my new assignment. Considering that my assignment on Eden Prime has all but finished I should be getting reassigned, I had even stated in my report that Eden Prime needed more defences and men to safely guard the beacon, but high command rebuffed my viewpoint and denied any extra military presence. They stated that a mass mobilisation could scare the Batarians, it was a good point but now a colony is in flames just because we wanted to save face.

I cough. "Anything else I should know doctor? Recovery times, outstanding issues?" I ask impatiently.

She laughs this time. "For such a young man Lieutenant it sure seems like you've seen your fair share of the medbay if you're reacting like this. Most young soldiers are shocked when they find themselves here. In regards to recovery, you should be good for combat despite the discomfort you're feeling, if the shot hit any internal organs then it would be a different story entirely."

She pauses for a moment.

"Oh that's right, Captain Anderson would like to see you. I'll ask him to come in at his convenience, after he is finished with you I also was told that the Commander would like to speak with you privately. In fact, here's the Captain now." She finishes and true to her word a broad shouldered man with darker skin walks through into the medbay.

He has an aura about him that I detect immediately. He's seen some serious shit, and he could still probably kill you in a myriad of different methods despite his apparent age. I wouldn't be surprised if he's at least an N1. He turns to me and nods.

"Sounds like the Geth hit you pretty hard Lieutenant, how're you holding up?" He asks.

I put on a brave smile, I've definitely had worse. "I don't like losing soldiers under my command Captain, but it's nothing I can't handle, I'm ready for duty whenever I'm required. That is...If I knew my current orders." I say with annoyance.

I'd looked at my Omni-Tool while the doctor was assessing my injuries and I had no messages relating to any new orders. That was unusual as the Director for the Alliance Intelligence Service usually gave me back to back assignments constantly. I used to hate it but the constant workload managed to keep my mind sharp and prevent it from wandering onto the past.

The Captain smiles at me and nods. "I know. There's a good reason for that though. You've been reassigned as part of my crew by Admiral Hackett. He knows that were going after Saren for attacking Eden Prime and he recommended you very highly. Your gear has been stored in an armour locker in the cargo bay and you'll bunk in the Officer's crew quarters on the third deck. It's good to have you on board the SSV Normandy, Lieutenant Svenson." He says calmly and I nod.

The Normandy? I'd heard a lot from about this ship from one of the operatives that I worked with a couple of months back. 'Michael Kiristein', he'd told me that the Alliance was working with the Turian Hierarchy to create a new stealth frigate that hid heat emissions. I thought he was lying, but apparently he wasn't.

I give the Captain a salute. "Thank you sir, I won't let you down." I state with pride swelling in my chest.

He nods and hands the doctor a datapad before walking straight out, once he's left the doctor turns her attention to me immediately.

"With all of your scans coming up normal, you're free to go. Last time I checked, the Commander was training in the gym on deck three." She mentions and I nod.

Something then strikes me. "Doctor, how long was I out?" I ask and she laughs.

She then turns serious. "You were out for seventeen hours under sedatives, I took you off the sedatives three hours ago but you stayed asleep." She says and I smile, looking down I notice I'm wearing Alliance military fatigues. That means she saw me...No! Bad thoughts Asher!

I try to contain the redness rushing to my face and nod sternly. "T-thanks for your help doctor, I'll see you around." I say and practically sprint out of the door.

I notice several crewmen milling about, handling their roles. I pay them no mind and head to the elevator, I step inside and see that I am currently on the second deck; I slam the button for the third deck and wait for it to react. This takes a few seconds; it seems that most space vessels have the problem of extremely slow elevators, I'd heard numerous times that it was part of a health and safety feature but I just find it tedious. After what must have been over a minute, the elevator opens and I come out to a corridor that splits in two directions, thankfully there is a sign on the wall in front of me. On my left are the Officer's Quarters and on the right is the Gymnasium.

I turn right and head down the corridor, after about ten seconds of a steady pace I set foot in the modest room; I see multiple sets of weights targeted at every muscle group as well as numerous treadmills. True to the doctor's word I see the Commander striking a punch bag; I walk over anxiously as I begin to wonder about why she wanted to talk to me, especially considering her icy attitude towards me during the mission. She notices me walking over and stops beating up the poor bag, it looked like she'd done a significant amount of damage to it.

As I get closer, she smiles at me and I'm almost stopped dead in my tracks. Why is she smiling and not wanting to kill me like she seemed to before? I stop in front of her and salute.

"Commander, the doctor told me that you wanted to see me." I state calmly and she nods.

Another smile is flashed in my direction. "At ease, don't bother with saluting me when it's just us, oh and also just call me Shepard." I nod and she continues. "I'm sure you're wondering about what happened down on Eden Prime, most soldiers who serve with me are shocked at my attitude on the battlefield compared to being away from it." She says.

I nod in agreement. "Yeah, I was wondering about that Shepard. You seemed to change drastically when we weren't in danger. No offence." I say, adding the latter part of my statement quickly to avoid giving the wrong impression.

She sighs and rubs her temples. "Okay, as you probably know along with the rest of the Galaxy, I fought in the Blitz on Elysium. My attitude was exactly on the same on Elysium as it was down on Eden Prime but because of my ' _heroic'_ defence of the colony that was overlooked by the media of the galaxy. Let's just say because of personal experiences in the past, I don't mess around when it comes to operations because I can't risk losing civilians because someone in my squad lacked discipline. Outside of combat, I'll be like this and happy to talk about anything but on the ground it stays mission only, does that explain anything?" She asks, and for a moment something falters in her eyes as if she's pleading for understanding.

I nod and shoot her a small smile. "I understand Shepard, don't worry. Is there anything else you needed me for?" I ask and she leans against the wall slightly.

She chuckles. "In fact there is, I've read your file...Well, the small amount of it that wasn't drowned in black ink. I know very little about you, I know you're a very strong biotic, proficient with shotguns, pistols and pretty efficient with an assault rifle. You took part in an operation that didn't go to plan and you still got the job done. I was wondering if you could fill in any blanks for me?" She asks and I sigh.

I hesitate for a moment. "Okay, but Shepard please don't talk about that mission, you'll have to get me drunk first to even start talking about it, it's the reason I joined the Intelligence Service. As you already know, I'm a strong biotic. I was trained by an Asari Commando in the basic biotic skills such as barriers, throws, warp and so forth and specialised as a Vanguard later on in my training. It was at that point I was trained in the biotic martial art of Zerzatio by a Drell that the Alliance hired. Because of this, I'm a very good hand to hand combat specialist.

Because of my work with the Intelligence Service, I've gained the ability to work independently without a squad next to me, so if you need a scout to gain any intel before advancing or attacking a position then I'm the guy. If you need someone to take point or to act as a shock trooper then I'm also the guy for that. As you saw on Eden Prime, I can hold my own against numerous hostiles on my own. I also have access to several high quality hacking programs given to me by the Intelligence Service, so if we don't have a tech expert then I can still do something. That just about covers my tactical worth Shepard." I explain fully, and she looks fairly impressed, this shocks me more than anything as she's an N7.

She smiles. "You seem like a perfect fit for the ground team. We were lacking a real shock trooper, Kaiden's a good biotic but he fits more of a support role than an offensive role. Just a word of warning though, we're a team so any of that lone wolf shit you were taught in Intelligence, it stays there. Other than that, I'm happy to have you aboard." She says with a warm smile and I get a weird feeling in my stomach. I dismiss it as an effect from being shot by the Geth.

I nod happily. "Thanks Shepard, adjusting to a new crew is normally hard but it's much easier when someone makes you welcome." I say with overwhelming honesty.

She shrugs. "No problem Svenson, anyway, I should get going to the bridge. The Captain told me that Joker is bringing us into the Citadel. You might need to suit up as he said he wanted the entire ground team with him." She informs me with a happy tone.

"See you later Shepard." I respond, saying my temporary goodbye as she exits the gym through the way I came in. She simply waves her hand my way in a casual goodbye.

I then turn to the exit myself and begin making my way to the cargo bay so that I can get kitted up into my armour.

 _ **Ambassador Udina's Office**_

I'd managed to get into my full combat gear in a matter of about a minute; I had also decided to take my pistol, shotgun and assault rifle with me. I figured if Saren really wanted to eliminate any witnesses to his crimes then he would be sending hit squads after us. I did some digging on his profile just before we docked, most of his activities were classified but what I did find was disturbing. A track record of causing civilian deaths, extreme property damage, previous hiring of mercenaries to do his dirty work...needless to say his record was putting me on edge.

Ambassador Donell Udina was appealing to the Council for a trial against Saren and he was surprisingly successful however, having dealt with a Spectre on an operation before I knew that it was likely no evidence would be found, and even so the Council would be likely to defend their best agent.

Udina looked like he was about to explode. "This is an outrage! The Council would step in if the Geth attacked a Turian Colony!" He exclaims viciously and I just cross my arms, unimpressed.

The Presidium represented everything I hated in the Galaxy; it was too clean and white collar for me. People just sat around sipping expensive water whilst denying that any problems existed in their little world. That upper class mindset always baffled and infuriated me.

The Salarian Councillor shook his head. "The Turians do not establish colonies on the edge of the Traverse, ambassador." He states calmly and much more slowly than most Salarians I'd met.

Then the Asari Councillor pitched in. "Humanity knew the risks when it ventured into the Traverse." She says softly and I resist the urge to sigh. The Council ganging up on Udina is cringe worthy if not deeply sad.

Udina responds again with renewed vigour. "There is still the issue of Saren attacking Eden Prime! I demand action!" He yells so loud that the people on Bekenstein could likely hear him.

The mandibles of the Turian Councillor flare violently. "You do not get to make demands of the Council, _ambassador!"_ He states, putting emphasis on Udina's title.

I look across and see Ashley giving the Turian Councillor a look of disgust, although given her comments about non-humans when I served with her, I'm unsure if it's due to the circumstances or just because he's Turian.

The Asari Councillor pitches in again and at this point I've nearly cringed myself into a coma. "We will discuss C-Sec's findings against Saren during the hearing, not before. Good day ambassador." She states bluntly, cutting the communication.

Yeah, good luck with that. Most Alliance spooks struggle to gather intelligence on the Spectres, what can a couple of Citadel Security Detectives do? Maybe that's me being snobbish and a little patriotic but the statement also has a solid amount of truth behind it.

The ambassador then turns to look at us; he seems deflated after his floundering with the Council. Captain Anderson had asked Shepard, Ashley, Kaiden and I to accompany him to the ambassador's office.

He almost snarls when he sees us all. "Captain Anderson, I see you brought half your crew with you!" He spits venomously and to the Captain's credit, he doesn't rise to it.

He barely moves. "Just the ground team from Eden Prime, if you had any questions?" Anderson explains.

Udina shakes his head. "I have the mission reports, I assume they're accurate?" He snipes and I clench my fists slightly.

Anderson nods. "They are, I see that you managed to convince the Council to give us a hearing?" Anderson asks with a small amount of admiration for the politician.

Udina sighs. "Yes, but they aren't happy about it. Saren's their top agent and they don't like him being accused of treason." He explains.

Shepard then takes a step forward. "A colony was nearly burnt to ashes because of Saren, like it or not he's a menace!" She growls and I eye her calmly, she's getting worked up.

Udina noticeably clenches his fists. "Settle down Commander, the mission was a failure. Nihlus is dead and the beacon was destroyed, you've done enough to damage your candidacy for the Spectres!" He snaps back.

Something then clicks. Shepard was being trialled as a Spectre? It makes sense; she's lethal in every aspect of combat and is an expert tactician but I thought we were years away from a Human Spectre? At his words, I feel anger rise in my chest and quickly dismiss my train of thought.

I storm forward and take a threatening stance, glowing an extremely faint blue. "We both know that was because of Saren! Don't you dare make it sound like the Commander was to blame!" I exclaim harshly and the ambassador recoils at my words.

Shepard places a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry Svenson, calm down." She whispers and I feel my anger dissipate, my biotic field dying down instantly.

Udina brushes himself off. "If that is all then, I must go to the hearing. Captain, come with me, Shepard you will be called when you are needed." He says smugly and I resist the urge to launch him into the Presidium Lake with my mind.

They both walk away.

Ashley is the first to pipe up. "That's why I hate politicians." She deadpans.

I nod. "Seconded." I reply.

She then laughs. "Good work though Asher, for a minute I thought he was gonna run for the hills." She says brightly.

This gets a chuckle from me. "I would've been so lucky." I say through a smile.

Kaiden then enters the conversation. "Well, politicians are usually spineless." He says which garners nods from us all.

Shepard turns to me. "Svenson, I appreciate you defending me but honestly, I had it covered. Thank you still." She says with a cheeky grin and I smile back. "Anyway, we should get moving." She finishes and I nod.

We all exit the office and follow the Commander to our next objective...

 **AN:** **Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter! The poll on my profile is making progress and so far it seems to be a one horse race, go ahead and vote if you wish to carry some weight with the story telling! Also, thank you everyone for reading, please leave a follow, a review and a favourite if you have the time. Until next time guys, peace out!**

 **Anon: Think you meant to post that review for chapter three? Nonetheless thank you very much for the support, the Kokoda incident will play a big part in Asher's character.**

 **Masterdude94: Yeah, she is a quality leader with multiple brilliant battlefield strategies. I feel that an N7 should be made as a tactical savant in writing. Looking at that moment I can see the similarities, Asher is definitely still feeling the trauma from that incident.**

 **General-Joseph-Dickson: You were partly correct my friend, thanks for the review!**

 **Fullbreaker: Being involved in that kind of heavy fighting for a long period of time will take its toll, I plan to do a lot of character development so changes in characters will be common.**


	5. Assignment: The Detective

_**After Action Report: Battle of Eden Prime**_

 _ **Documented by the Director of Alliance Intelligence at the Request of Admiral Steven Hackett (Fifth Fleet)**_

 _ **Systems Alliance Military**_

 _ **Commanders/Leaders**_

 _ **\- Council Spectre Nihlus Kryik (KIA)**_

 _ **-Captain David Anderson**_

 _ **-Commander Nathaniel Singh (KIA)**_

 _ **-Lt. Commander Alina Shepard (WIA)**_

 _ **-Lieutenant Asher Svenson (WIA)**_

 _ **Combat Strength**_

 _ **-100 Alliance Marines (Four N Graduates)**_

 _ **-300 Colonial Militia Soldiers -**_

 _ **-SSV Normandy and her combat team** **-**_

 _ **-Four M35 Mako APCs**_

 _ **-Six A97 Nightclaw Gunships**_

 _ **Casualties**_

 _ **-Council Spectre Nihlus Kryik (Normandy)**_

 _ **-Commander Nathaniel Singh (212** **th** **Marines)**_

 _ **-Corporal Richard L Jenkins (Normandy)**_

 _ **-87 Alliance Marines**_

 _ **-239 Colonial Militia Troops**_

 _ **-Lieutenant Asher Svenson** **(WIA, Alliance Intelligence Service, Counter Terrorism Division)**_

 _ **-** **Lieutenant Commander Alina Shepard (WIA)**_

 _ **-** **4 M35 Mako APCs**_

 _ **-3 A97 Nightclaw Gunships**_

 _ **-Estimated 20,000 Civillians**_

 _ **Battle Overview**_

 _ **Despite Alliance losses, the colony of Eden Prime is still standing and the mastermind behind the attack has been revealed. Lt. Commander Alina Shepard also interfaced with the Prothean Beacon. As such this is regarded as a pyrrhic victory.**_

 _ **Battle Report**_

 _ **The Battle of Eden Prime began on the afternoon of September the 21** **st** **, 2183 at an unspecified time. The first documented shots of the battle occurred when Geth forces dropped from their Dreadnaught and ambushed elements of the 212** **th** **Marine Division stationed at the colony. Commander Nathaniel Singh was cut down quickly along with most of his men, shortly after this Lieutenant Asher Svenson of the Alliance Intelligence Service's Counter Terrorism Division joined the battle along with Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams.**_

 _ **Svenson and Williams drew fire from the Geth and managed to push the attackers back with the support of the rest of the 212. Svenson particularly impressed with his use of diversion tactics by utilising his ability to produce a biotic barrier. With his Commanding Officer dead, Lieutenant Svenson became the stand in CO of the 212, upon learning that communications were being jammed by a Geth rig at the docks; Svenson decided to go by himself to destroy it.**_

 _ **Fifteen minutes later, the dock became clear of hostiles and the jamming signal was lifted, implying Svenson was successful despite huge Geth resistance. Svenson then linked up with Commander Shepard and her commando team, they moved forward and then linked up again with Chief Williams as she was the only survivor of a second Geth ambush on the 212. After a firefight with the Geth at the dock, a worker named Powell confirmed Council Spectre Saren Arterius to be responsible for the attack on the colony and the murder of Council Spectre Nihlus Kryik. A prolonged series of engagements followed and eventually Svenson took a sniper shot that was meant for Commander Shepard. He was incapacitated and medically evacuated to the SSV Normandy. Commander Shepard then interfaced with the Beacon and was also incapacitated, she too was medically evacuated.**_

 _ **Alliance forces on the colony fought with the Geth for a further three hours before the Geth retreated.**_

 _ **Conclusions**_

 _ **-Lieutenant Asher Svenson has been recommended for Interplanetary Combatives Training (ICT) at The Interplanetary Combatives Academy (Or N-School) in Rio de Janeiro. This is due to his high test scores during basic training and his specialisation training as well as his actions serving on the Kokoda, on Bekenstein, Kar'Shan and Eden Prime.**_

 _ **-Intelligence Teams have been dispatched to investigate Geth territory and the Two Kilometre Dreadnought encountered on Eden Prime.**_

 _ **-Alliance Fleets will patrol colonies near the Traverse more frequently and more marines will be put groundside with Orbital Defences being developed at each.**_

 _ **-The Alliance will commission a Ninth and Tenth 'Heavy Fleet' to improve defences. This will cause the building of forty new frigates, twenty cruisers, four carriers and two dreadnoughts (Made possible due to re- negotiations of the Treaty of Farixen)**_

 _ **End Report**_

 _ **Director Madini: Alliance Intelligence Service**_

 **Lt. Asher Svenson**

We walk down the stairs that appear after you exit Udina's office and start heading down them, the Presidium is the same as it ever was; there's a quiet buzz around the place and people are oblivious to the dangers of the galaxy at large. Piracy, slavery and killing seem like they're a world away from this place, so far in fact that I'd be surprised if any resident here had experienced it. We enter a courtyard type of area and I see the Citadel VI, Avina located in the middle of it. On my right there's a set of steps and a door that leads to a cafe' and ahead of us there is the massive fucking lake in the middle of it all.

All of a sudden, I hear multiple people screaming and before I can even pull out my pistol, mercenaries pour out of the cafe and from the direction of the Ambassador's office. I do a quick headcount and there are fifteen of them, compared to the four of us. They're a mix of Turians, Humans and Batarians and they seem well armed, with military grade assault rifles and shotguns. I quickly envelop the squad in a large biotic barrier just before the shooting starts, but then it starts.

Gunfire rips through the Presidium and I feel the drain against my barrier immediately as they all begin firing at me. Shepard, Ashley and Kaiden have their weapons out as soon as the first shot is fired.

Shepard looks at me. "Asher, get us back behind that courtyard wall and then drop the barrier!" She orders and I see the spot she means. There is a small wall about three metres behind us that would provide good cover for the fight. I begin moving backwards as the private army in front of us begins to advance on our position.

It only takes me five seconds to get us all behind cover and I immediately drop my barrier. As soon as I do this, Shepard takes away the head of one of the mercenaries with her sniper rifle and Ashley had just riddled another one full of holes with her assault rifle. I pull my pistol from my hip and lean out of cover, I see a group of three of them advancing with shotguns and firing on our cover. I struggle with my biotics and with a grunt I manage to lift all three of them by manipulating their mass. They hang limply in the air and are picked off by my comrades in arms. I quickly shuffle back into cover before snapping out of it almost instantly and riddling an advancing assault rifle wielding mercenary with pistol shots, the first three rip through the kinetic barriers and the fourth tears through the throat of the Turian. In this time, Shepard had unleashed three more shots from her rifle and therefore had racked up three more kills.

This leaves six remaining mercenaries. Kaiden manages to bring another one done, five. I switch to my assault rifle and pop out of cover again. Two more have managed to flank around Ashley's right side with their rifles. I squeeze the trigger in bursts and open fire on them with quick controlled bursts of automatic gunfire, the first three bursts kill the lead Batarian however, and his Human ally goes into cover and fires on me from cover. A prolonged burst of gunfire slams into my shields and tears them to shreds before I feel a sharp pain in the very left side of my abdomen. I fall to the ground with a yelp and return fire to try and keep the enemy suppressed whilst my shields recharge.

Shepard notices this. "Asher's been hit, Alenko lay down a suppressing fire! Williams, go get him into cover!" She orders and they both comply without complaint.

Ashley runs over to me whilst Kaiden provides covering fire with his pistol, Shepard does the same after switching to her assault rifle. She grabs onto the collar of my armour that separates the plating and my helmet. She then begins dragging me as I continue to pour rounds down range and it seems that the final enemy is the one who clipped me. He starts running and Shepard who had quickly switched back to her sniper, drills a hole in the back of his head before he could run ten feet away. She coolly blows the smoke that had erupted from the weapon and walks over to me.

She applies medi-gel to the wound on my left side that is now healthily weeping blood and she gives me a stern look. "What the hell were you thinking Asher? A little to the right and that mercenary would have killed you. Why did you come out of cover like that?" She demands with a face that is the picture of fury.

I smile and give a pained laugh that subsides after the anaesthetic properties of the medi-gel kick in. "Williams got flanked by the two mercs on the right, I broke cover and took one of them down, I thought I'd suppressed the second but he managed to get a bead on me, sorry Shepard." I explain and she just sighs, looking less angry now.

She nods. "Well, Williams is still one piece so you succeeded but it was still dangerous. Those men attacked us in a broad daylight cycle on the Presidium. No doubt that these were Saren's men." She deduces and I nod.

Kaiden then walks over. "Still doesn't mean that we can prove it ma'am. The Council will chalk it up to terrorists and leave it at that." He says with a subtle hint of anger and I nod.

Ashley hauls me to my feet and upon inspection I see that the wound had stopped bleeding. I did get damn lucky there. The round had penetrated my far left side of my abdomen and just missed the lungs and any other internal organs by likely mere centimetres. Although I have no clue how accurate that is, I'm a soldier, a deep cover agent and even a biota-ball player but I'm no medic.

Shepard shakes her head and sighs. "Enough talk, we need to get to the hearing." She says and I nod but I'm interrupted by my Omni-Tool beeping.

I see that I've received a message.

 _Lieutenant Asher Svenson/_

 _I've received information regarding Council Spectre Saren Arterius that you would most likely be interested in knowing. If you are interested in the information then come alone to the location tagged in this message. I hope to see you soon._

 _/Major Michael Kiristein (N7)_

Major Kiristein? I haven't seen him since I last deployed with him to quell a pirate action in the Traverse. Every operation that he commanded went off without any problems, he has never lost a soldier under his command and he's been put in charge of around seventeen combat operations, not to mention the fact he's an N7 Operator. The man's qualifications speak for themselves, if he says that he has information then it's going to be good.

The only problem is that because Saren still has his Spectre status, it's not outside of the realm of possibility that he falsified this message and sent it to me to lure me into a trap. Why would he want me though in that case? I'm just a decent soldier and a good biotic. Fuck it, there's no use wondering. Best case scenario, I can get some valuable information and potentially sink the bastard Spectre, worst case I have to fight my way out of the building that's been listed and try to survive.

I turn to the Commander. "Shepard, I've just received an important call. You'll have to go the hearing without me." I explain vaguely.

She gives me a concerned look. "Will you need any reinforcements? I can get Alenko to go with you." She offers, her voice betrays very little emotion save for apprehension.

I shake my head and raise my hands. "That won't be necessary; I'm not planning on getting into a combat situation. Thank you though Shepard." I say with slight sarcasm, smiling behind my helmet at the emerald eyed woman.

She frowns at me which causes my smile to drop. "Okay, go on then. Be careful Lieutenant." She says, switching back to my rank and it looks like I've annoyed her; she probably didn't appreciate my sarcastic comment.

I smirk evilly. "Yes ma'am." I say with a cheeky salute before walking away.

I can feel her staring daggers at the back of my head but I continue walking, I take a left through an alleyway and come out to a crossing. I then take a right and see a backdoor that enters into a building. I pull out my shotgun and open the door; I storm into the room, sweeping my weapon from left to right and taking in my surroundings. The room looks like a warehouse section, crates are scattered around generously and there's nobody to be found.

All of a sudden, I feel a strong impact hit me in the back and I'm sent sprawling forward. I recover by turning the fall into a forward roll, I then spin around and launch a biotic throw at the direction from which I was attacked. I hear a grunt and an impact against a wall. I see a man in pitch black armour peel himself from the wall he was just stuck on and then charge at me with a shotgun.

I put up a biotic barrier and it manages to easily deflect the first two blasts, I have to dodge roll to the right to avoid the next one. At this point my assailant is right up in my face. Looks like I'll have an opportunity to use Zerzatio after all, they go to fire another shot but I react quickly and use a small biotic field to pull my attackers arms to the right. This sends the shot harmlessly wide, and I capitalise on their confusion by smacking the shotgun away with an open palm strike. The weapon clatters across the room and the man in black armour throws a precise punch at my abdomen, I only avoid it by stepping back with the agility of a jaguar. They throw another punch aimed at my face, this time I use another biotic field to make their punch miss hilariously to the right before countering by throwing a biotic powered punch at their helmeted head.

Or at least I would have.

The joints in my armour lock and I grunt as I fail to move, eventually I fall to the floor as I'm off balance and I let out a grunt as the wind is knocked from my lungs upon the hard impact.

The man walks over to me. "Very impressive Asher, I remember last time we fought hand to hand you couldn't block one of my hits, let alone cause it to miss entirely. You might have even killed me if it wasn't for Lieutenant Salvatore here." The man says, he has a voice changer active and then takes off his helmet. It's at this point I recognise him. The scar running along his eyes, the black closely cut hair, those almost soulless brown eyes.

"Major Kiristein, sir." I say as the restraints against my armour cease and another armoured figure clad in black appears from the darkness. I stand up and stare into the Alliance Special Forces soldier's eyes.

He nods. "Indeed, you've impressed me Asher; its clear training with that Drell did your hand to hand combat abilities a world of good. You even gave me a surprise by using Zerzatio against me, I only know of a handful of other soldiers in the Alliance who utilise it. Though, that's not why you're here."

I stare at the man who had appeared a few moments ago and he removes his helmet, revealing a young face.

The Major laughs. "Ah, you haven't been introduced. Asher, this is Vaeros Salvatore. He's my protégé in the Intelligence Service and a savant with technology, which is why he was able to sabotage the joints of your armour." He says with a dark chuckle.

I shake my head and mutter. "Charming."

The young man looks at me and he couldn't be a day over twenty-one himself, this adds fuel to my embarrassment at being outdone by him.

He laughs fully. "Come now, this is not the time for grudges young Svenson. After all, I have the information for you against Saren." He says with a cocky grin.

I nod begrudgingly. "You're right, so what do you have for me on the treacherous bastard?" I ask angrily and this gets another chuckle out of my old mentor.

He nods. "Down to business, you've changed."

 _'Losing the men under your command because of a rouge Spectre will do that to you'_ I think silently to myself.

He continues. "A Citadel-Security Officer named Garrus Vakarian is currently on his way to Doctor Chloe Michel's clinic in the wards to try and get information about Saren, you find Garrus you find the information. The navpoint for her clinic has been added to your Omni-Tool." He says with a smile but then pauses. "Good luck, I've gotten word he's not sending his usual two-bit thugs this time." He says with a grimace.

I chuckle. "Nothing I can't handle, thanks for the intel Kiristein, I'll let you know how it goes when it's over." I say with false confidence, the prospect of fighting some of Saren's more trained men is actually quite unnerving, especially if it turns into a hostage situation with only me and a C-Sec Officer to try and somehow deal with it.

I walk out of the door that I had come in from and immediately sprint over to the rapid transit cabs, I hail one and direct it to head to the location that had been set onto my omni-tool. Sitting in the seat of the sky-car, I begin to pour over my weapons and go over a plan to extract the doctor safely and to deal with the cronies. The data Kiristein had given me was complete with several snapshots of the clinic and from these I could determine a course of action.

Unlike most buildings in the wards, the clinic was completely detached and was its own building. It has several windows and two floors. There are two entrances, one at the back that cuts through a storeroom and obviously the front door. The mercs will most likely keep most of their men focused on the front but they will have a couple of stragglers at the back if they're as smart as the Major believes them to be. I have three neural shock grenades that are silent and will incapacitate anyone caught in the blast radius for five seconds, I shouldn't still have them though as they're technically Alliance Prototypes that I acquired during the Battle of Eden Prime.

I disembark from the sky car and unsheathe a knife from my left shoulder; I then stay low and crouch walk to the back of the building, making sure that I escape the view of any civilians that might be watching. If they unintentionally tip the mercs off then the doctor is as good as dead. I lean against the wall next to the back door of the building and I press the button to open said door. The door rushes open and I throw a neural shock grenade through it.

I rush through with flaring biotics and a knife in my hand immediately after it detonates with a small flash and next to no sound. I immediately take in the situation; two mercenaries lay down on the floor temporarily stunned. I use my biotics to increase the mass of my foot as I raise it over the mercenary's head; I then bring it down and crush his skull in gory fashion. Not thinking about how savage what I had just done was, I do the same to his comrade.

I then sheathe my knife again and pull out my pistol from my hip as I rush into the lobby; I sweep left and right with my weapon and see that there is nobody around. Suddenly, I hear muffled voices from upstairs and I quickly move up the stairs towards the sound of the commotion.

My work with the Intelligence Service had me posted to their Counter Terrorism Division and as such I've dealt with numerous hostage situations and right now I only had one possible plan that could guarantee the doctor's survival. It relies on speed and surprise; I hope that C-Sec Officer is here because that would make my job a hell of a lot easier right now. I approach a door and the voices are now much louder, unlike the rest of the doors in this place, this one is an older looking door. It has an honest to god handle on it. This is good, this makes my life easier as I can just burst through and catch the mercs off guard.

"-Please no!" The shouts of a woman are muffled and I know from this that I have to act quickly.

I walk up to the door and take a step backwards, I then thrust my leg forwards and kick the door clean off of its hinges. I quickly take in the scene in a split micro-second; the doctor has a weapon aimed at her by a man with a tactical visor who is wearing no armour. On his right he is flanked by six mercenaries in heavy duty combat armour that are wielding high grade assault rifles. As soon as I take this in, I throw two neural shock grenades at the hired guns and then I follow through on the main part of the plan; I put the doctor into a biotic stasis field as I dive behind cover. The main with the tactical visor gets one shot off before the grenades explode however; my stasis easily deflects the shot.

I then look to my left and see a Turian in C-Sec armour. Ah, this must be the infamous Garrus Vakarian. He pulls out an assault rifle and moves forward rapidly, he lays down fire into three of the incapacitated mercenaries including visor man before moving to the doctor, I drop my stasis field and he pulls her down behind cover. At this point I advance forwards and quickly switch to my assault rifle. One of the three surviving mercs manages to stand up quickly however; he is put down by four quick bursts from my assault rifle. The final two receive a biotic lift field that suspends them in the air; at this point it just takes two prolonged bursts from me and the Turian detective to take them down.

Little did I know, a survivor tries crawling for their weapon. I fire a quick burst into them and they go limp. "Sorry friend, next time tell your boss to send the big boys." I say with a dark chuckle.

I saunter over, clutching my rifle close to my chest. "Good shooting Detective Vakarian, I'm delighted to know that I was not misled in regards to your talents." I say in a song-song tone.

The Turian's mandibles flare and he gives me a predatory growl. "Who the hell are you?" He demands.

I chuckle. "I'm the man who just stopped this turning into a nasty report on your desk; Asher Svenson, Alliance Intelligence." I say, oferring my hand.

He shakes it and before I can react, a squad of heavily armed soldiers rush through the door. I then laugh upon seeing who it is.

I smile. "Hey Shepard, looks like the cavalry wasn't needed after all huh?"

* * *

 ** _AN: Hey guys, I'm finally back with another chapter after so long. I'm sorry but real life has caught up to me and I had not time at all to continue writing however, I am not giving up on this fic._**

 ** _In other news the poll on my profile is a one horse race at this point, just so you guys know ;)_**

 ** _Finally, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. Also favourite and follow if you liked it, until next time guys._**

 ** _Dickson: Thanks for the review my friend._**

 ** _Masterdude94: Once again as always thank you for your feedback, I like to have a character who is real and believable and having Shepard with that mentality feels more real to me_**

 ** _Fullbreaker: Thank you very much!_**

* * *

 **Also, some people have been asking me about the AU nature of this fic.**

 **It will become increasingly AU over time however the current AU changes are listed below. These changes will eventually cause a ripple effect to the Galaxy at large and change more things over time.**

 **-** The Alliance has more pull in the galactic community due to competent negotiating with the Citadel Council, this lead to more leniency on the Treaty of Farixen.

-The Alliance, despite in terms of this universe being in a small recession still has a larger defence budget than in a normal universe due to increased military investment by companies on Earth to protect their interests and enterprise.

-Due to the first two changes, Batarian hostility to Humans is even more pronounced, with the two ready to go to war at a moments notice.

-Operators of the Intelligence Service are only second in skill in the Alliance Military to soldiers with an N classification.

-The Alliance has developed certain technology outside of canon Ie. Neural Shock Grenades.


	6. Assignment: Bar Fight

I look at the Commander after having made my sarcastic remark and she gives me her now trademark death glare and I swear to you, that stare could melt titanium beams. Everyone puts their weapons away and the chances of a friendly fire situation completely disappear. I then look at the group, Williams, Alenko, Shepard and... A Krogan? What the hell Shepard? I then realise that the Krogan hasn't put his weapon away.

He growls. "Do I need to kill him Shepard?" He asks coldly.

This Krogan is at least eight foot tall, brimming with muscle and enough natural body armour to fit out a new Mako, but I always take exception to being threatened. So despite the apparent idiocy of standing up to this beast, I do just that.

I step forward and flare my biotics. "You can try it big guy, but you wouldn't even be the seventeenth Krogan I've killed by myself in the last two years." I snarl, trying to make myself sound menacing.

The Krogan merely laughs. "Sit down welp, you wouldn't even be a challenge." He mocks with a toothy grin.

I'm about to retort but Shepard storms forward in fury. "Enough, both of you! Asher, what the hell are you doing here? You said you weren't getting into combat with your wound." She demands in a dangerously low voice. "Wrex, try not to provoke my crew." She says and the Krogan who I assume is called Wrex simply grumbles to himself.

Despite this, I chuckle. "I've made your day Commander, the Turian you see before you has information that could lead to Saren." I say proudly.

She doesn't even respond to me, she just turns to Garrus. "Detective Vakarian, what have you got?" She asks and I can tell she is definitely in her business only mood right now.

To his credit Garrus simply chuckles. "I've got information that Fist is working for Saren, he plans to kill a Quarian that has evidence that incriminates Saren. The good doctor here had told me about this the day before, she'd treated the Quarian for radiation poisoning from Polonium rounds. No doubt Saren had tried to silence her." He explains.

Shepard grins like a Cheshire cat and cracks her knuckles. "Let's go pay Fist a visit then." She sings darkly.

I turn to the Commander, thinking about only one thing. "Shepard, how the hell did you recruit a Krogan?" I ask, raising my eyebrows in slight surprise.

She gives a smug smirk and cocks her head to the side. "Oh this big guy right here? I saw him being 'spoken to' by a couple of C-Sec grunts, so I decided to take him off their hands and point him Sarens direction, plus I offered to help him detain Fist, so this is a happy coincidence." She says happily and her tone gives me cause for concern, it's slightly sing-song and erratic.

I give a cheeky grin. "Okay, let's take this small fish down then." I say, unfurling my assault rifle for emphasis.

She then looks at me happily. "I almost forgot, I've just received news from Captain Anderson, he's been informed that the higher ups have recommended you for ICT at The Villa, he said it was because of your actions on Eden Prime among other operations."

This causes me to recoil. "I've been recommended for N School?" I say and she just nods.

I let out a low whistle and don't even say anything for the next thirty minutes. I try to force it to the back of my mind so that I don't dwell on it so much when I get into combat, because if I do that then there's going to be mistakes on my part and that could put someone in danger.

Around thirty minutes later we're walking up to Chora's Den and everyone is ready for action. I have my assault rifle in my arms and I'm ready to unleash my biotics at any moment, Wrex has pulled out his monstrously huge shotgun, Garrus and Shepard are hanging in the back with their sniper rifles, Alenko has his pistol and Williams has her assault rifle open too.

Our formation has me and Wrex at the front as the main force of the assault with Alenko and Williams in the middle acting as a support role; this is supplemented by sniper fire from Garrus and Shepard in the back.

Nobody really tells you how you feel before a raid, the coiling in your stomach caused by nerves, excitement and the constant questions and hypothetical scenarios you conjure up for yourself. What if a grenade lands at my feet? What if they have biotics or heavy weapons? What if they have turrets? These uncertainties add to the anxiety and excitement that can act like a line of red sand for some soldiers, it becomes addictive and they can't picture a life without it. My stomach coils into a knot and I ask myself these questions.

I approach the door and see that it is locked up, straight away I go into a state of higher awareness, I can smell everything more sharply, my vision and hearing have more clarity too. "It's closed up Commander, they're expecting us." I say with a grim expression.

She laughs. "Then open the door and let's find Fist." She asks and I nod.

I walk towards the door and press the button to open it, before rolling to the left and slamming into the wall to avoid an absolute storm of gunfire that would have instantly destroyed my shields.

Shepard screams over the gunfire. "Wrex, Asher, put a barrier and advance to the overturned tables in front of you! Alenko, try and give Asher barrier support too, he's not a Krogan after all! Everyone else hang back and wait for the biotics to clear some cover for us!"

I feel my spine tingle and I wrap myself in a protective biotic barrier, looking over I see Wrex do the same and we both charge into the room at the same time. Gunfire screams across the room all around us and a few shots clip my barrier, making me have to concentrate slightly harder on maintaining it. Eventually I slam into a overturned table next to Wrex and I look up, doing a rough headcount I estimate that there are seven mercenaries in armour and about twenty regular hired thugs who don't even have shields...a typical glass cannon kind of defence. They can lay down heavy fire but if you hit them at all, they're finished.

My radio crackles to life. " _Asher, what's the situation?"_ Shepard asks with urgency and a little worry.

I laugh, mainly because despite being in a room with nearly thirty armed people wanting to kill me...I have a Krogan! "It's good Shepard, twenty or so guys, most unarmoured. Wrex and I will kill a few then move up so you can set up a firing position." I say and I hear the radio crackle again.

" _Got it, waiting on your call." She replies._

I raise my rifle and quickly pop out of cover, I see three unarmoured thugs advancing on our position and I quickly flare my biotics, because they have no armour or shields I easily manage to catch them in a lift which leaves them suspended and helpless in the air. I release a quick burst from my rifle into each one of them and get back into cover just before a stream of gunfire hammers against my position against the table. I turn to see Wrex annihilate two more thugs with his shotgun, one has his guys spill out of his stomach and slowly dies on the floor while the other has his head reduced to a pulpy mess, weirdly the mercenaries are hanging back and not getting involved in the thick of things, smart of them really. I can see from their armour that they are all Turians.

I vault over the table and take cover behind the bar; Wrex does the same straight away.

I quickly get on the radio. "Shepard, you're clear to set up a firing position. I'm moving up!" I announce and Wrex beats me to the punch, charging into the fray with a cry. He fires three shots with his shotgun and each of them finds their mark, destroying his foes. His weapon overheats and he merely puts it on his back before glowing a dangerous blue and unleashing a throw that slams four thugs against the wall with a wet, sickening crunch. As I'm moving forward with my rifle mounted into my shoulder, a couple of shots hit me from my right and cause my shields to drop slightly, this causes me to turn and lay eyes on a small squad of three thugs. I fire six short bursts, two into each criminal and they crumple to the floor, dead.

I see that my comrades had set up their firing position and they had just finished killing all of the opponents that Wrex and I had left behind in a brutal hail of accelerated metal shavings. I then spin back around and see the final three thugs in front of me, the rest had been killed. The first one throws a clumsy punch that I catch with one hand after dropping my rifle, with my other hand, I rip my knife from its sheathe and I ram it into his throat quickly, not wanting to waste my biotics on such low threat combatants. Blood spurts out and his two friends try to attack me at the same time, I duck under one punch and the other just smacks against my armour causing my attacker to grab his hand in pain, they stumble into eachother and in the confusion I pull my pistol out and fire two shots in a single fluid motion, taking them both down to the ground.

I pick up my assault rifle from the ground as shooting starts again with the armoured soldiers who are now fighting, before I can even take a step. I feel myself get ripped off the ground and I soar in the air into the bar, I feel something crack as I fall to the ground with a retching cough and laboured breathing.

I then hear that the shooting had stopped and despite the fact my hearing is muffled I hear a voice; it makes my blood run cold. "We got them boss, the program worked just like you said it would, it sabotaged the joints of their armour and now we've got them ready for processing on your word." Fuck, the squad has been taken down? I must've been hit with that biotic attack before they could get me. I peak over the bar and as they said, the squad are all lined in a row on the ground with the guards standing over them, weapons ready. It seems they'd either forgotten about me or thought they'd killed me.

I have no plan to subdue them as I'd already used all of my neural shock grenades, I just need to attack with everything that I have and hope that it's enough to take them all down. These men seem like they've been trained well. I say a silent prayer and grab my rifle that lies in a pool of alcohol, making the grip sticky. I leap over the bar and this causes the mercs to turn to face me, my team look at me in shock. I launch a huge throw, possibly the most powerful I've ever done thanks to the combination of sheer fear and adrenaline. Two of them already saw what I was about to do and managed to jump out of the way, the other five were caught and slammed with incredible force against the wall. Only two of them survived the impact. I fire my rifle at the Turian closest to me in a prolonged burst and it takes him down cleanly. His comrade fires on me at close range with a sniper rifle and my shields take a huge hit, I have to quickly put up a biotic barrier before he hits me with a second shot, it ripples against my biotic energy and I grunt. Suddenly, Shepard moves from the floor and hoses him down with her assault rifle from behind, before turning to the surviving mercenaries and killing them methodically in rapid fashion.

She then turns to me with a wicked smile plastered on her face. "Good job Asher, gave me a great opportunity to hit them when they least expected it. " She says and walks over to me, cocking her hips slightly as she does.

I give my own smile and heft my rifle. "Happy to help Shepard, they didn't get your armour?" I ask.

Shepard laughs almost hysterically. "Asher, if the N7s could be taken down by an advanced but common programme like that then we would no longer be the best. My armour has countermeasures. Watch my back while I get everyone on their feet." She tells me and I nod.

I look around with my rifle as the Commander gets everyone up to their feet, eventually Wrex storms forward and heads for the door. We follow behind him without complaint and open opening the door, he blows away two young criminals with his shotgun before kicking down the door to Fist's Office.

We all fill out into the office as he sets up defence turrets, although they don't last long. Garrus and Shepard both hit one with an overload before filling it with gunfire, Kaiden gets the other one with his overload and Wrex and Ashley both rip to pieces too. I storm up the steps to the man who is now cowering before me.

He looks at me and sees the anger in my eyes. "Please, don't hurt me, I'll do anything!" He squeals and I sweep out his legs from underneath him. He crashes to the floor and I pull out my shotgun.

I snarl. "Tell me where the Quarian is, now." I growl in a low voice.

He quivers and I shout for effect, kicking his desk over. "I don't know anything about any Quarian!" He cries.

I shove my weapon into his face. "Don't lie to me Fist! I can kill you right now and nobody could do anything about it!" I scream.

He puts his hands in front of his face weakly, as if that would protect him. "Okay, okay! Don't shoot, I don't know where the Quarian is, but I know where you can find her. I set her up to have a meeting with the Shadow Broker, when she gets there it will be Saren's people waiting for her! It's in the back alleys next to the club; you can still get to her." He pleads and I shake my head before snarling again.

I walk away and hear a large crack, I look behind me and see that Wrex had curb stomped Fist and killed him.

Shepard steps to him straight away. "What the hell was that? I did not give you an order to kill him." Shepard asks in a dangerous tone.

Wrex shifts but stands firm. "When I'm given a job, I finish it, the Shadow Broker pays well." He explains.

Shepard frowns. "I don't care if he's offering you the chance to snort red sand off the Consort's ass; you follow my orders, understood?" She demands and the Krogan backs up a step.

He grumbles. "Got it Shepard." Is his reply and I'm coloured impressed by her ability to make the Krogan conform to her orders.

She then turns to me. "Let's head out and get the Quarian, Asher, you take point." She asks.

I nod. "You got it Shepard." Is my reply and I begin to think about things.

Those Turians that we fought were clearly trained very well, I mean all Turians are given military training but they were on another level to the point where they managed to incapacitate most of the team and keep themselves alive during the first fire fight without losing anybody and there are only a few groups of Turians that I can think of that have the ability to do that. The first one are members of the Blackwatch, The Turian's Elite Infantry, Saren being a Spectre he could have definitely swayed some of the more nationalistic Turians to join his cause. The only other group would be the Spectres and despite them not being much help I doubt the Council would send Spectres to fight the people investigating their top Spectre, even though he is their best agent.

The Turian Councillor doesn't seem too fond of us so it could be him but Intelligence would have at least got a hint of something going on. Dammit, there's no point thinking about it now. I have a job to do.

I have a Quarian to rescue.

 **AN: Hey guys, back with another chapter and this time on a relatively more normal timescale. So a lot of questions posed in this chapter and a couple answered, let me know what you think in the usual way you guys do so. Thank you very much for reading and have a nice day.**

 **In other news the poll is still going strong and will close after the second main mission once our 'heroes' leave the Citadel. I'm still undecided which mission that will be.**

 **Masterdude94: Thank you! She is certainly like a light switch with Asher, also I tried to make the combat scenes as entertaining as possible whilst still keeping touch of realism there. Asher's solo mission was definitely not appreciated.**

 **Anon: Thank you!**

 **Fullbreaker: Hopefully for him he will, although he may not take the offer immediately. That was the plan, the chapter before last was very much based around dialogue so I decided to make the last chapter very combat and action centred.**


	7. Assignment Bar Fight 2 and Space

We enter the bar again however, this time we are aren't in any kind of cohesive combat formation. We have literally just charged into the fray, although the fray doesn't even look like that much of a challenge if I'm honest. The gunfire erupts around me and I pull out my pistol honestly, it's all I need. The bar has just been reinforced by about twenty unarmoured thugs who are so ill equipped that they couldn't even salvage a civilian grade kinetic barrier rig, I run into cover behind an overturned table and Shepard falls in next to me, clutching her assault rifle. The rest of our team our fanned around the room and it looks like the thugs have wised up, they're firmly planted in cover.

It looks like their plan is to get us to come to them so that they can catch us in a lethal crossfire, fat chance.

Shepard taps my shoulder. "Any chance you can use that space magic of yours to give me a shot at these guys?" She says with a chuckle, with her laughing it shows that she doesn't even see them as a threat because like she told me on the Normandy, she is always professional in combat for her own reasons.

I holster my pistol and both of my hands flare with biotic energy. "Anything for you Shepard." I say teasingly before quickly raising both of my arms viciously, this action alone rips five enemies from cover and it doesn't take much of my power because they don't have any kinetic barriers to get in the way of my biotics.

She then raises her rifle and dispatches all five of them, giving them each a deadly accurate burst of rifle fire. "Such a gentleman!" She sighs, feigning a flustered appearance.

I then turn to my left just in time to see Garrus nail two thugs with two shots from his sniper rifle; they're dead before they even hit the floor. A brave or stupid man charges forward, wildly firing his pistol and he even manages to get a shot off on me, causing my shields to flicker slightly; I channel my biotic power and effortlessly lift him off the ground before launching him into the wall, the wet snapping of his bones and the rest of his body are audible even over the gunfire.

Wrex charges forward and blows away a combatant with his shotgun, causing gore to fly everywhere. He then turns to me. "Not bad whelp, maybe I won't have to kill you after all!" He booms, laughing as he does so.

I suppress a chuckle and fire on one of the three remaining goons, scoring a headshot and dropping the number back down to two; the rest of them are quickly finished off by the rest of the team.

I holster my pistol and turn to Wrex. "Much appreciated big man." I say with a hint of sarcasm, the hulking lizard simply growls at me in response.

Shepard's voice snaps me back to attention. "Let's move people, we have a Quarian to save!" She shouts, sprinting forward with her rifle shouldered. I follow along with the rest of the team, sprinting behind the Special Forces soldier.

Neon signs and buildings pass by in a blur, and we nearly knock over a few innocent bystanders whilst sprinting for the back alley that first mentioned. We turn a corner and we stop dead in our tracks, Garrus, Ashley and Shepard all have their sniper rifles off of their backs in an instant while I draw my assault rifle from my back, leaving Kaiden with his pistol and Wrex with his assault rifle. The scene in question is a Quarian woman talking to a fairly creepy Turian man; he starts running his talons over her hips and my blood runs cold. This is all kinds of wrong. My battlefield instincts kick in and I survey the area, the Turian has six friends, two of them are Salarians in full body armour and there are three Turians, the last of them is a hulking Krogan who is clutching a rocket launcher.

I muster up the nerve to speak. "Plan Commander?" I say, I know that I have my own idea of how to deal with this but she is much higher up the command chain than I am.

She gives me a look. "If fighting starts, I want Alenko to use a pull to get her back here quickly. Asher, I want you to put up a barrier around us to protect us from fire whilst we get the Quarian to safety, then you can join the fight while the rest us rain down hell on these two-bit mercs." She says, voice dripping with venom and she has darkness in her eyes that I only saw back on Eden Prime when she saw the nukes.

I nod in understanding. "Got it commander." I reply, while the others all nod and mutter their own forms of acknowledgement.

The Quarian slaps away the hand of the Turian leader and then dives away after throwing a grenade at the two Salarians. An explosion rocks the alleyway a moment afterwards and Alenko quickly uses a biotic pull to force the Quarian to our position, she flies rapidly towards us. I immediately put up a large biotic barrier, enveloping the entire squad just as the rest of the mercenaries begin to fire at us, my barrier starts to take small hits from the Turians just as the Quarian is taken into cover by Alenko, who seems to be talking to her.

Suddenly, the Krogan brandishes a missile launcher and points it at us; I focus harder on the barrier that I am holding up just as he fires. The missile slams straight into the biotic bubble, causing it to flicker slightly; the impact causes me to grunt in pain and my body to jolt slightly.

Shepard turns to me with a look of concern and shouts. "Svenson, the Quarian is safe! You can drop the barrier now!"

I nod in relief and drop the barrier before pulling my assault rifle from my back, there's no point using my biotics now that I've used them extensively already, I'd just end up wearing myself out and overloading my amp.

I aim down range and find my target in the Turian on the far right of the enemy group. I squeeze the trigger of my weapon multiple times in bursts and they all find their target; the first burst impacts his shields whilst the second manages to drop them, the final one pierces the skull of the mercenary and kills him. Shepard, Ashley and Garrus all open fire with their sniper rifles, raining down hell on the remaining three Turians who are all killed fairly quickly under the harsh levels of lethal gunfire. This leaves the Krogan on his own, the entire squad then turns their attention to the lone combatant and we all open fire with our respective weapons, making mincemeat of what would usually be a tough opponent.

I stand up, chuckling. "Well, that was easy!" I exclaim.

Ashley shakes her head. "Did he really just say that?" She whispers to the commander.

Shepard sighs. "Yes...he did, and he just probably doomed us all." She mutters, causing me to break out into a loud chuckle.

The entire group them reforms, obviously having plenty of questions for our new Quarian friend.

 **Attican Traverse, Near the Border of the Terminus**

Captain Ramsey strokes the stubble of his five o'clock shadow beard and groans, looking at his reflection in his black coffee cop, his cold grey eyes and dark hair staring back at him. He had been given control of a generously sized Alliance Navy Battle Group to carry out routine patrols fairly close to Batarian Space, the Battle Group itself consisted of a Carrier which was his flagship, the SSV Mendeleev, six cruisers and ten frigates as well as two recently developed new designs created by Alliance R&D, the Sun Tzu class Destroyer acts as an escort ship for larger and less manoeuvrable ships much like frigates do and while they move slightly slower, they can pack much more punch.

The Sun Tzu class has a state of the art GARDIAN Laser Defence System which has been given an increased power output so that they can destroy mass accelerator rounds this is coupled with an advanced LADAR and Heat Detection system, forming what is known to the ship's Captains as the Stonewall Mechanism. The LADAR can track over 10 mass accelerator rounds at a time whilst giving firing solutions to the users of the GARDIAN Laser system to shoot them out of space whilst they are still moving so they can protect themselves and other ships from damage. They also equipped with mass accelerator weapons that have been very slightly tweaked down from a cruiser size weapon which allows it to hold its own against ships of a slightly larger size than itself due to its manoeuvrability. The ship itself is around 300m long and its main downside is that due to the advanced GARDIAN Lasers system, the cost of one of these ships is higher than that of 4 Cruisers, another disadvantage is that because high powered lasers are short range, the projectiles can be allowed uncomfortably close to other ships if the Captains of the destroyers aren't working properly, the second Sun Tzu class destroyer, the SSV Montgomery was given lasers at the extreme end of the frequency spectrum to increase overall power and range.

Ramsey had been patrolling this sector for the last week and he hadn't found anything worthy of report to high command, no slaving raids, and no mercenary groups...not one thing.

He turns to his XO, Commander Eva Lustig. "Eva, I'm not liking this...when the party stops in the traverse it normally means something big's goin-"

The Captain is cut off by one of his ensigns working the LADAR. "Captain, we just got multiple jumps in system looks like around fifteen ships, mostly cruiser weight in a line formation...their IFFs' are showing as Batarian Navy!" The young woman with red hair says in panic.

Ramsey takes a sip of his coffee before acting. "Eva, give a call to Flight Lieutenant Haggerty, I want all of our bombers in the air and striking at the sides of that formation, we need to loosen them up." He then presses the communications button for the entire battle group. "All ships, this is Captain Ramsey speaking, we are being engaged by Batarian Navy, the Cruiser Captains have orders to converge around the Mendeleev in a protective formation and engage the centre of the formation whilst the new destroyers will stick close to them, trying to destroy as many rounds as you can from the cover of the cruisers! Don't take any chances, their ships may be old and dated but a direct hit to the weapons could be devastating! I want the Frigates to make attack runs with the fighters at the edges of the enemy formation and try to score some killing blows! You all have your orders, let's go!" He shouts and everyone begins to move.

 **The Flame of Kar'Shan**

Battle Commander Thek Korul sneered in disgust at what he saw before him. "The Humans managed to react to our jump quicker than I anticipated! Also the intel that bastard Balak gave me was wrong, he promised five Alliance Ships! All ships, open fire!"

 **In the Battle**

The first shot was fired by the Batarians as their leading ship in the formation fired two mass accelerator rounds at the SSV Cairo, it looked like they were going to land critical blows until the SSV Sun Tzu appeared and used it defence systems to destroy the rounds before they could even hit. This angered the Batarian Commander who began shouting at his men and raving about how humans shouldn't have technology that advanced.

Captain Ramsey was left smiling at the display before him, he was right to request the two new destroyers. The bombers of the SSV Mendeleev were numerous and dangerous, they split into two groups, moving to attack both sides of the Batarian line formation with their Alliance Frigates moving five strong with them on each side, when they approached, the Batarian Cruisers opened up with weak and inaccurate GARDIAN Laser fire, mostly due to the almost antique nature of their ships, which meant that only a fifth of the bombers even received any damage on their first bombing run, with only a handful of them being destroyed. The Batarians were not so lucky though, due to the bombardments on the left and right sides, six of their Cruisers had lost their kinetic barriers which left them open to opportunistic strafing runs by the Alliance Frigates which destroyed all of them however, one of the frigates, The SSV Kokoda had become crippled after taking a hit to the engine by a GARDIAN Laser barrage which meant that it needed to hide behind the wreckage of the Batarian cruisers to prevent themselves being destroyed immediately by their enemies.

The redheaded ensign shouts in shock again. "Captain Ramsey sir, The SSV Kokoda has been hit and it is drifting in the middle of the battlezone! They'll be slaughtered if we don't help them!" She shrieks.

Captain Ramsey swallows hard and clutches his cup tighter; he definitely missed being a ground pounder. Thankfully during the bombing runs, the friendly Cruisers had managed to focus fire and take out another three Cruisers on the Batarian side, leaving them with only six more, which was equal to the amount Ramsey had...for the lives of the Kokoda, he needed to take a tactical gamble.

He sighs. "Cruisers, split into two groups of three and attack the enemy in a pincer movement, I want the destroyers to support them and try to run damage limitation, I don't want one damn cruiser sinking! Bombers and frigates will head up the middle of the path and try to strike." He demanded and after receiving a number of confirmations, he stood up.

Every Alliance ship quickly got into a combat position and very quickly three of them fell due to the combined fire of the bombing runs and shelling from the cruisers however, Ramsey felt the ship rock from underneath him, making him stumble. "The last three Batarian cruisers are opening fire on the Mendeleev, barriers are holding steady at 67%, and we've taken six hits!" Eva shouts.

Ramsey nods. "Tell the tech guys to keep it up." He responds.

Eventually after a few more minutes the final Batarian ships fell and the not so legendary Battle Commander Thek Korul was killed in Action, along with all of his ships and their company, curiously none of them escaped to their pods, perhaps because they weren't allowed to Ramsey thought darkly.

He sits bag down in his chair and runs his hand through his hair, his once immaculate dress blues slightly stained by coffee due to his ship being struck. "Ensign, status report!" He barks and the shaky young woman nods quickly.

She takes a quick glance at a data pad and coughs. "We lost fifteen fighter pilots, another one hundred and fifty of the fighters themselves are in for repairs, thankfully the SSV Kokoda made it due to your actions, The SSV Cairo, Warsaw and Washington received light damage and overall group crew casualties are seventy." She says hopefully.

Ramsey nods and smiles. "Good, that's better than I was expecting when they jumped into the system...I'm going to write a report, it will be down and mailed to Admiral Hackett in an hour, he'll want to know about this...the whole damn Alliance Parliament will...this was a declaration of war."

Captain Ramsey storms out of the room, suddenly boiling with rage. Council Law states that a formal declaration of war has to be sent out before any hostilities begin; this was obviously not what happened and is in direct violation of Council Law. He had made sure that all of the evidence was gathered in case it would be needed to decide a course of action, although the likely course was set, an all out war with the Batarians. It is very unlikely that the Council will help us though as they will see it as a 'Human problem' even though one of the laws they swear to protect was violated...makes you wonder why the Relay Incident occurred. Suddenly, Captain Max Ramsey didn't feel like he was 26 and one of the Alliance Navy's youngest Battle Group Captains, he felt like he was old enough to easily be a veteran of the First Contact War. Still, his entire Battle Group survived and that's good enough for him.

 **AN: Hey guys I'm finally back after what feels like years, needless to say, I have a lot of explaining to do. I've been doing exams recently so I have been studying very hard as I literally cannot afford to fail them, add that with my commitment to my work and then you have a recipe that leaves no time for writing when recreation such as social drinking and sport has factored its way into your time table without you noticing. Now thankfully it is close to the end of the academic year and hopefully I will be able to update more regularly. Also thank you for 50 followers and 30 favorites. Stay beautiful guys and I am out, Peace!**

 **Fullbreaker: Thank you, yes it was definitely shorter as this was now is because of the fact I have literally no time on my hands whatsoever.**

 **General-Joseph-Dickson: I like him too, then again I kinda have to ;) N-School is something I have vast plans and consequences for.**


	8. Assignment: War Declared

After the fighting had stopped, the Quarian woman turned to us with her shotgun raised. "Who are you? What do you want?" She demands, aiming her weapon between all of us. She was acting like a scared animal, jumpy and vicious.

I chuckle darkly, letting my handgun hand down by my side. "Come on now, if we wanted to kill you, we would have however, we don't want to do that. Put the gun down, odds are you wouldn't even be able to take one of us down before we retaliated." I say in a condescending tone, hoping that she'd see sense and not try to kill us.

She lowers her weapon. "Okay fine, but that doesn't answer my question. Who are you and what do you want?" She demands again.

At this point Shepard steps forward. "Maybe I should answer that, forgive my subordinate, he's a bit of a hot head. I'm Commander Shepard with the Alliance Military and we've been told that you have information that can prove Saren is a traitor." She says formally and in an even tone.

The Quarian takes a step forward. "My name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya and I'm on my pilgrimage. I have information that might be useful to you, but not here, it's not safe." She says, sounding less jumpy this time.

This time Ashley pipes up. "We could take her to the Ambassador's Office, it should be secure there." She suggests, causing the N7 Commando to nod.

"Okay we'll head there, squad let's move out!" She orders and we all turn to move in sync to Udina's office, I'm sure he's going to be thrilled to see us.

Around thirty minutes later and after a couple of small skirmishes with Saren's men, we make it to the Ambassador's Office and not even a moment after we enter, he begins his tirade.

"You're not making my life easy Shepard, firefights in the wards? An all out assault on Chora's Den? And on top of that I have to deal with the Alliance declaring war on the Batarians, do you have any idea..."

I recoil at his last statement and so does the rest of the squad, but nobody says anything, maybe out of shock? I don't know about them but for me it is definitely the case.

Udina pauses when he sees Tali walk in with us. "A Quarian, what are you up to Shepard?" He asks accusingly.

Shepard doesn't even recoil slightly and responds. "I'm making your day Ambassador; you would have known that if you hadn't jumped down my throat."

I resist the urge to let out a laugh at that because Udina actually turns to me. "Lieutenant, you have orders from the Director of Alliance Intelligence. He would like you to meet up with two other Intelligence Operatives at the location I have just forwarded to your Omni-Tool, the senior officer will explain your orders." He explains.

I nod. "Yes sir!" I bellow. I then turn to Shepard. "You take the evidence to those fools at the Council and you bring that bastard down." I say with a wink.

She nods at me with an uneasy smile. "I will do Asher, just don't get yourself killed, I'll need you on my team." She says, her statement half a joke and half worry.

I give a cocky smile. "Orders received ma'am, don't get killed. Go get 'em." I say before exiting Udina's office with purpose.

As soon as I exit the office, both my smile and my facade fall. I let out a huge sigh and think over what I just discovered, the Batarians have just declared war on the Alliance and effectively the Geth have done the same thing. This means we'll be fighting a two front war against both of them and with the recent spending cuts to the military our ability to fight a naval war is greatly compromised despite the fact that we have the largest military expenditure outside of the Council. We are more technologically advanced than the Batarians and hopefully better trained; they have also had to rely on building their own outdated ships. However, with their slave labour force they have been able to churn out many more ships than the Alliance has, meaning they outnumber us. Then you have the Geth, they have no currency or treaties or need to rest which would normally limit ship production, they likely outnumber us in space and on the ground, they're also more advanced than us.

If humanity is left alone in this war, then things will get bloody and I do not like our chances. I'll still fight to the death for everyone, for my family, for my comrades, for Shepard. That woman has a way of inspiring people around her; maybe that's why I'm so willing to fight.

I keep my hand on my pistol, making sure that nobody gets the drop on me and as I exit the offices I turn left and keep walking for a good ten minutes until I enter an alleyway. It's at that point I see two familiar figures in jet black armour, one of them with the obvious N7 logo emblazoned proudly on his chest. I walk over and salute the N7 soldier.

"Major Kiristein, I'm glad it's you that I'm working with on this assignment. Ambassador Udina told me you would fill me in on the details." I state formally for my former mentor.

He chuckles. "Glad to have you back son, I suppose I should give you some background knowledge. While patrolling with his Battle Group on the border of the Terminus Systems, Captain Max Ramsey's group was ambushed by a Batarian War Pack, thankfully Ramsey is a brilliant naval commander and organised an effective response, he destroyed the War Pack and managed to save the SSV Kokoda...your old ship which was severely damaged in the fight and he suffered no ship losses. Needless to say he filed his report to Hackett and we declared war on the Hegemony shortly after." He explains and I nod, I'd heard stories about Captain Ramsey, apparently he was a no-nonsense marine who got slung up to Captain and off of the ground because no Commanding Officer wanted to deal with him.

"I see but sir, that doesn't explain why I'm here." I say calmly.

"Haha, picked up on that did you? Well, it turns out an old friend of yours is gathering intelligence on the Alliance here on the Citadel for the war. You fought against him on the ground when you lost your squad on that moon. He's a Batarian Special Intervention Unit Captain, Ragnok Ukbona, a nasty bastard but you knew that already. Our orders are to storm his compound on the Citadel, which is hidden in plain sight on the Presidium, from there we are to rip any information from his terminals there and either kill or capture him." He states and I recoil at the mention of my previous encounter with the man.

The younger kid, Vaeros Salvatore then pipes up, his voice sounding gruffer than his slight frame would suggest. "Resistance is looking bad; we know there are at least ten SIU officers at the compound and twenty more regular Batarian Marines. Major Kiristein has devised a plan where I will sneak around the back of the compound and I will knock out the generators, blinding them when we strike and also preventing them from wiping any data from their network. You will only have the element of surprise for a moment as the SIU are known for using night vision technology in their armour. Then you and the Major will storm the compound, with me in a support role, fighting your way to the control room so I can rip the data when the backup generator comes online. We will then fight our way to the command centre and try to capture Ragnok, any questions?" He says, further outlining the plan but still not fully doing so, much to my chagrin.

"Yes, one last question. What is our extraction looking like and do we have any support?" I ask and Kiristein just laughs.

"No way kid, this is an Alliance black op, we have no support and our extraction will be in a convoy of unmarked vehicles, although they will be flown by other Intelligence Operatives so if another fight breaks out we should be fine!" He says happily and I remember that the man is like nobody I've ever met, he loves fighting, he loves violence and he loves going against the odds like a bad gambler.

"Okay, I got it all." I say and he laughs again.

"Then let's move out!" He announces.

* * *

It only takes us another five minutes to reach their compound by which point we had wired into the same secure communication channel. The place had no exterior guards as that would arouse suspicion. The large walls surrounding it weren't actually uncommon as many current major celebrities would erect them to maintain their private lives, or some semblance of a private life. Hiding in plain sight indeed.

Thinking about it, I've been in combat on a consistent basis since Eden Prime, before I would get an assignment, complete it and then take a week off before another assignment came through. With both Shepard and Director Madini hassling me it's been non-stop fighting which is great for a war junkie like Major Kiristein but hell for a normal person like me.

We come to a side wall of the compound and the Major raises his hand in a closed fist, ordering us to a halt. He then grips what seems to be a loose piece of the wall that is roughly a meter tall by a meter wide and pulls it backwards, removing that part of the wall completely and allowing us to filter in whilst crouching. It seems like the Major had already paid a visit to give us an entrance for this operation. We come to a large courtyard area with an expensive looking fountain and essentially this place is the same as any expensive presidium home, just with the added bonus of some of the meanest Batarian soldiers in the Galaxy inhabiting it.

The Major points at Vaeros at then points to a corner of the compound where I'm assuming the generator is located, and then he motions for me to follow him. He pulls out his assault rifle, which is a sleek black design which I had never seen before, he sweeps from left to right with his rifle while he moves and I do the same with my pistol and I wait apprehensively for a moment where I may need to erect a barrier.

We manage to break through the courtyard without any hassle and we stack up on a door at the back entrance of the expensive building, I switch to my shotgun for close quarters. It wasn't quite a house but not quite a mansion either, the Major points to his eyes and I get ready to enable night vision for when we breach the building. Eventually the radio crackles to life.

" _The generator is down, breach! We have five minutes before the backup turns on!"_ Vaeros shouts.

Sure enough Kiristein kicks down the old fashioned wooden door and we burst in with him on the left and myself on the right, instantly enabling our night vision capabilities and illuminated in the darkness are the shapes of four Batarian guards. I instantly open fire on the closest one to my right with my shotgun, completely overwhelming his shields and killing him whilst the Major had already sprayed down his two enemies by time I had sighted my second target, I quickly pull the trigger and finish him off.

The Major then sprints forward with his weapon raised and I do the same, my shotgun rests in my right hand, with my left hand ready to generate a biotic attack at any opportunity. Sure enough, we come to a T shaped corridor and five soldiers appear in front of us. Without hesitation I lift my left arm and then thrust it forward, unleashing a throw that engulfs three of them that were stupid enough to bunch together. My mentor eliminates the two who didn't go down with expert precision. I then throw a warp at the downed trio which detonates a powerful biotic explosion, killing all of them rapidly. In the same of around a minute myself and the N7 Special Forces soldier had managed to clear out nine of the thirty guards although, I doubted any of the ones we killed were SIU. They were likely protecting Ragnok.

My blood boiled at the thought of fighting the bastard that was responsible for the deaths of my squad mates, back then I was nowhere near as competent as I am now and the experienced Batarian Commando wiped the floor with me in terms of biotic skill and he would have killed me if it wasn't for the Alliance reinforcements landing at my position.

In the time we had taken to get to the corridor, Vaeros had caught up to us and despite my misgivings about him locking the servos in my armour, I'm glad to be fighting alongside Intelligence Operatives again, after all this is my area of expertise, black operations anyway.

Major Kiristein points to the left and we head in that direction down the corridor, I see that Vaeros is only carrying a pistol and no other weapons. I just hope he's good with it. We eventually make it to the doorway of what looks like the server room however; we get stopped in our tracks when a barrage of gunfire erupts in our direction from inside the room. I peak inside and see four Batarians in pitch black armour that is not too dissimilar to ours and is in stark contrast to the brown armour worn by the regular soldiers.

"Fuck, they're SIU, we can't flush them out with grenades otherwise it'll destroy the consoles! Sve-Fuck!" He is cut off as a round glances off the side of his helmet. He then continues "Svenson, put up a barrier and get in their behind the counter, we'll lay down suppressing fire!" He shouts and I see what he's saying.

There's a metal counter halfway into the room and then one nearer the consoles where the Special Forces soldiers are taking cover. If I can close the gap, I'll be able to draw their fire and give the others a shot or vice versa.

I holster my shotgun and I use both of my hands to put up a biotic wall that only protects me from the front, this is so I can focus more power into that area, rather than wasting some power protecting my back. I rush out into the open and my barrier is assaulted by assault rifle and shotgun fire instantly, causing me to grunt and groan in pain from the sharp pains it is causing in my head. I then collapse behind cover and drop the barrier straight away. Poking my head over cover, I notice the armour of one of the soldiers locking up and he is then taken down by several bursts from the Major, it looks like my distraction managed to draw enough fire to get a clear shot. I quickly pop out of cover and use my biotics to lift one of the distracted Batarian soldiers out of cover however, in doing so I exposed myself to gunfire. A blast from an enemy shotgun hits me squarely in the chest and I am sent crashing onto my back behind the counter, my shields had been completely ripped through and the chest plating on my amour had been warped by the shot. Thankfully none of the shavings had penetrated and the lifted soldier had been torn apart by my comrades.

I hear a yell of pain and looking back, I see that Vaeros has been hit in his left shoulder by a stray round from the disciplined Batarian soldiers. Despite their comrades dying around them and their dire situation, they haven't surrendered and they're still fighting.

I hear a shout of "Cover me, I'm moving up!" I turn back and see that the Major is charging forward to my position, Vaeros fires his pistol at the Batarians with his good arm and I erect a biotic barrier around him which allows him sufficient protection to get behind cover next to me. He then presses his Omni-Tool for the communication network.

" _Vaeros, Asher and I are going to stick our heads up, when we do I want you to lock the armour servos of the Batarian on the right whilst Asher will sock the one on the right with a biotic attack."_

I look back and see Vaeros give a signal of acknowledgement for the plan, I then look back to Kiristein and he counts down from three with his fingers, three, two, one. When he reaches one, we both burst from cover and just before the shotgun wielding Batarians can absolutely annihilate us Vaeros comes through and locks the armour servos of the left Batarian whilst I hit the Batarian on the right with a powerful push field that sends him sprawling into the wall, his shotgun discarded a metre away from him but before it does, it discharges into the wall next to me. I finish the enemy off with more than a few well placed rounds from my pistol, whilst Kiristein unloads a long burst from his assault rifle into the final enemy.

And then, the lights come on.

I don't even realise that I'm panting until the fighting temporarily stops.

I turn to my mentor. "You weren't joking sir, these SIU soldiers are no joke, even the non-biotics." I say between breaths.

He nods. "I know and we still have six of those guys left to go, as well as the rest of the regulars. Overall there should be seventeen hostiles left in this place, including Ragnok. Vaeros, rip the data from their consoles. Luckily we killed the bastards before they could wipe any of it! Asher, watch the door with me and cover Vaeros, no doubt more of them will be coming.

I nod and move towards the door, switching my pistol for my assault rifle. I crouch down next to the door frame and grimace, four SIU soldiers nearly killed me and they nearly took down Vaeros too and we have to fight six more of those guys...including Ragnok. This should be interesting.

* * *

 _Notes:_

 _-Despite having known and been taught by Michael Kiristein most of his career, Asher does not use his first name unless it's for a significant reason, much like Shepard always refers to Admiral David Anderson as 'Anderson'_

 _-The servo locking technology utilised by Vaeros Salvatore is an Alliance Intelligence prototype and as such no countermeasures have been developed by any other military units in the Galaxy, making it an effect weapon and a perfect choice to use against the deadly Batarian SIU._

 _-In this Universe despite the Alliance taking budget cuts to the military, it's military capacity and enlistment rate is sizably larger than it is in canon, making the Alliance a less 'useless' protection force for Earth and its surrounding colonies._

 _-The moon where Asher lost his squad is technically uncharted and unnamed despite being used as a base by pirate forces and therefore in conversation with him it is usually referred to as 'the moon'._

 _-Major Michael Kiristein is one of the most decorated soldiers in the Alliance Military, having fought in numerous campaigns and winning victories against insurmountable odds although he is usually kept out of the limelight due to the nature of his 'wet work'._

 _-Captain Max Ramsey is one of the youngest Alliance Battle Group leaders at 26 years old and had previously fought on Torfan and Elysium, where his actions had led to his promotion from Commander to Captain, although the official reasons for the promotion are questioned with the name 'The Butcher' being thrown around frequently in military circles._

-In this Universe Batarian soldiers aren't known for their skill, however they are known for their ferocity whereas their Special Intervention Unit are known for both which a deadly combination for anyone engaging them. Alliance Military soldiers are advised not to engage them in direct combat and to try and set ambushes to pick them off from afar due to their common use of short to medium range weapons.

* * *

 **AN: And I'm back with another chapter and a new notes section that adds some trivial information for you amazing readers to read and that can also help flesh out the universe that I am trying to create. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and leave a follow, favourite and a review if you can spare the time. Thanks again for reading and I'll see you guys next time.**

 **BrotherCaptainShepard: It wasn't as soon as I would have liked but I'm glad you enjoyed reading!**

 **General-Joseph-Dickson: Thanks again!**

 **Fullbreaker: These beginning chapter will be very combat heavy, and the development will be slow but show flashes of intensity. Thanks for reviewing.**


	9. Assignment: VIP Data

I've always been a bit of a joker, and therefore a massive pain in the ass to anyone that has been on a mission with me. Though there is a reason for this. It's my way of dealing with situations that stress me out and it helps to keep my mind focused on the task at hand and not the repercussions of failure and this was one of the times where it was at its worst. I'm already extremely tired; I mean hell it feels like I've been fighting all day between the assassination attempt, Chora's Den and now fighting Batarian Special Forces...not an ideal day at the office.

Because of my exhaustion, my amp is beginning to burn out and my biotics are becoming less effective. Also, Salvatore has essentially got a crippled arm so he won't be able to use his pistol and Omni-Tool at the same time, the only one who is completely combat effective is the Major.

We move down the hallway with the knowledge that we have an estimated seventeen hostiles left to eliminate, including the bastard himself. Suddenly four men burst from the ahead of us, boasting the armour colours of the regular soldiers in this compound. As I raise my rifle, an arc of electricity engulfs all four of them and their shields are torn to pieces, at that point all it took was three bursts from me and two from Kiristein to finish them off. Now we're down to thirteen.

The Major pipes up. "Nice Overload, Salvatore and good shooting Asher." He compliments, which is normally a rarity.

Then almost immediately after, another group bursts through the same door and all six of them are instead baring the black marks of the SIU. I groan, knowing that I won't be able to hold them all off with a barrier in my weakened state, then another arc of electricity spreads across two of them and the Major takes them down with expert precision. However, nobody anticipated that the soldier at the back would pull out a missile launcher; he quickly levels it and fires at Salvatore. I frantically put up the strongest barrier I can manage around him; however the missile rips through the barrier and strikes Salvatore which then causes him to slam into the wall behind us.

Kiristein turns around. "Vaeros! You bastards..." He shouts and then murmurs dangerously.

I use my biotics again to deliver a weak Push attack which causes all four of the Batarians to stumble, The Major then cuts them down with assault rifle fire and I can feel blood running down my nose. I pant heavily, my world spinning slightly and my body feeling detached from reality. I manage to stumble behind the wall at the cross section.

I lean out of cover and spray at one of the soldiers with my assault rifle, the inaccurate barrage manages to clip him and bring down his shields at which point the Major kills him with a single accurate shot from his rifle before completely eviscerating the last SIU soldier in the compound. The Major rushes over to Salvatore instantly and begins applying Medi-Gel while I lean against the wall, trying to catch my breath. I glance over at him and his wounds look severe as he has fresh blood spilling from his stomach, it looks like the shrapnel tore him to pieces.

A few moments later, I stand up and move over to the two of them and I begin to speak. "Sir, Ragnok only has six guards left. We can make the push into his safe room and take him out, completing the mission!" I snarl, letting the opportunity of getting even get the better of me.

The Major whirls on me with fury that I have never seen. "Not an option Svenson! Don't you see what happened to Vaeros? If we push to the safe room we would have to leave him behind and he would die! We have the data and I'm calling in our evac!" He shouts over the comms.

I then begin to feel irritated. "Ragnok deserves to die, today! After all he's done, I won't let him escape!" I shoot back, insinuating that I would complete the mission myself.

The Major snorts. "Don't be ridiculous Asher, Ragnok nearly killed you the last time you fought and he would have if you hadn't have received reinforcements! To go against him and his guards in your current state is idiotic and practically suicide, fall in line soldier!" He demands and after a few seconds of intense staring, I sigh and relent.

"Fine...he walks, today. But make no mistake, I will kill him." I mutter dangerously.

The Major nods. "I need you to watch my six while I carry Vaeros out of this place, I sent the message for our ride to get here and it's going to be there in two minutes. It's not likely that the Batarians will follow us because they're going to be in the same shit as we are; I got word that someone tipped off C-Sec about the gunfire. We need to move now before they get to us!" He starts explaining calmly, before finally barking an order at me. I attach my assault rifle to my back and then I pull out my pistol so it would be easier for me to put up a barrier if I needed to.

I agree silently, still boiling with rage. The Major then slings the younger operative over his shoulder and we begin the short but painful slog to our makeshift entrance in the wall. We rush through the door that we had breached to enter the mansion. A couple of Batarian guards begin firing at us from the fountains with assault rifles, the rounds strike at the floor right next to our feet and they make a metallic sound upon impact, this causes me to spin around and aim my pistol at the incompetent soldiers, it takes four shots for me to bring one of them down and I use a throw to launch the other soldier into the fountain, once his body smashes against it, he doesn't move.

We then continue running, my lungs pound in my chest and all the blood suddenly rushes to my head as I see my black spots appear in my vision and I become lightheaded. I shake my head and let the wave of nausea wash over me, it's at this point that the Major manages to clamber under the makeshift entrance whilst still holding Salvatore. Before I can exit, a group of three Batarians storm into the courtyard with heavy assault rifles and begin firing on me, the wall makes an orchestra of metallic sounds as the rounds impact it. Four of the shots manage to hit my shields and make a sizable dent in them before I manage to duck under the wall and begin sprinting after the Major.

I look towards the end of the path we are sprinting on and there seems to be two unmarked air-trucks blockading the end of the road with their back doors opened up. Two soldiers stand at the back of each of them with their rifles raised, sweeping to the left and the right every second.

The Major then shouts towards them. "Get a goddamn medic over here, I've got wounded!" He shouts and immediately one of the soldiers in the truck on the left rushes over and grabs Salvatore from the now wavering Major Kiristein. He seems exhausted, almost like he hasn't slept for days but it wasn't noticeable until now. We loaded up into the truck and begin to take off just as C-Sec vehicles begin to become audible in the distance.

From the constant fighting on both Eden Prime and the Citadel, my body begins to buckle and I begin to feel burning at the back of my head, I hear the calls of the medic.

"He's losing blood fast here, we've got three broken ribs and one of them has punctured his right lung! Lots of shrapnel in there too! I'm gonna have to create an Omni-Gel seal around the rib to stop air from escaping his lung! You there, give me all of your Omni-Gel!" He shouts to his counterpart in the vehicle and then he begins going to work, also applying Medi-Gel to stop the bleeding in the appropriate areas and replacing the hasty application that was done by the Major. By the end of it his hands are covered in blood and Medi-Gel residue which coats the cabin in both the smell of sterilizing agents and the sharp tang of iron from the blood. He then stands up and looks at the Major. "I've managed to stabilize him but he needs more advanced medical care and he can't be treated on the Citadel otherwise the medical staff will ask some pretty uncomfortable questions."

I quickly interject out of impulse. "The SSV Normandy's Captain and Commander both have the necessary security clearance to know of our operation and the med-bay is one of the most advanced in the Alliance Navy! Not to mention they have one of the most well respected doctors in the Alliance." I add and the medic nods.

He bangs on the side of the vehicle twice. "Sergeant Dunn, take us to the docking area for the SSV Normandy, and don't take the scenic route!" He shouts and suddenly the vehicle lurches to the left.

We then begin the short journey to the SSV Normandy, I just hope that we can keep Vaeros alive long enough for him to receive medical attention.

* * *

 **Lt. Commander Alina Shepard**

 **Citadel Tower**

I walk up the steps to where Captain Anderson is waiting for me, with both Lieutenant Alenko and Chief Williams by my side; with this attack being an Alliance issue I figured that it would be for the best for me to only bring Alliance Military soldiers to the secondary hearing. No doubt Anderson is anxious to nail this bastard, especially if what Harkin told me about Saren ruining Anderson's chances of being a Spectre is true.

The Citadel Tower is just like I imagined, grand and condescending, just like the attitude of the people here being clean and full of large overpowering structures with a large amount of steps to reach the level of the Council, of course this 'couldn't' be symbolic.

The Captain is eager to get me up the rest of the steps as I approach. "Come on Shepard, Udina is presenting the Quarian's evidence to the committee." He commands and I simply nod before following my mentor up the steps.

As I walk forward I can hear the recording _"Eden Prime was a major victory, the Beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."_

 _"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers..."_

Both voices ring out across the chamber and I get the sweet sight of seeing the Turian grin wiped clean from Saren's face.

Ambassador Udina gives a sinister smile. "You wanted proof, there it is." He states, taking an aggressive step toward the holograms of the Council.

The Turian Councillor can't contain himself and his mandibles twitch. He sighs. "This evidence is irrefutable, Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and classed as a terrorist. He will have no access to Council resources." He says with a tone of disbelief.

The Asari Councillor then voices her opinion. "I recognize the other voice in the recording, it is that of Matriarch Benezia, a respected member of Asari High Society. She would be a powerful ally to Saren." She states gracefully as if it wasn't a disgrace to the Asari people.

I shrug. "It doesn't matter to me who she is, she's just another traitor that needs a hole in her head." I state with an undercurrent of anger, remembering Jenkins on Eden Prime.

The Turian Councillor then snarls. "That's exactly the kind of attitude that caused you to declare war on the Batarians!" He shouts.

Before I can interject, it is the Salarian Councillor that intervenes. "That's enough Sparatus! We know that it was in fact the Batarians that initiated hostilities. Now...what I'm more concerned about is the Conduit and these Reapers that they speak of." He explains methodically.

I nod. "Saren believes that the Conduit is the key to bringing back the Reapers, information that was recovered from a Geth memory core showed that the Reapers are revered by them as gods and that it was actually the Reapers that drove the Protheans to extinction." I explain.

Anderson then cuts in. "This is obviously dangerous and we should take every action to stop him." He adds.

The Turian Councillor vigorously shakes his head. "Don't be ridiculous, Saren no longer has his Spectre assets and the story of the Reapers is likely a fallacy used to draw the Geth to his cause. Where would the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? If they existed then we should surely have found some trace of their existence." He counters in a patronizing tone. What an asshole, see if I save you when Saren tries to destroy all of galactic civilization

Udina looks like he's about to burst a blood vessel as he charges forward. "That's not enough! Send your fleet in! A Citadel fleet could protect the entire region, stopping the Geth from striking at more of our colonies!" He demands and the Asari Councillor shakes her head.

"We cannot risk sending our fleets near the Terminus systems, that would risk us getting dragged into your war with the Batarians however, there is a way to take action against Saren which does not involve armies or fleets." She states diplomatically and from the sounds of that she is the Councillor I like the most.

Of course the Turian Councillor has a dreadnought stuck up his ass. "No, it is too soon! Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with being a part of the Spectres!" He shouts, with no etiquette, I mean seriously, I'm right here asshole.

I'm not letting him say that. "It was a Turian Spectre that betrayed this Council and a Human that exposed him, I've earned this!" I firmly state.

They nod and they all also tap on their consoles before the Asari Councillor speaks. "Commander Shepard Please step forward." I do so, receiving a nod of confirmation from Anderson and she speaks again. "It is the decision of the Council you be granted all of the privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

Then the Salarian Councillor crosses his arms and starts speaking. "Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of battle whose actions go beyond the rank and file."

Then the Asari joins in again, damn speeches. "Spectres are an ideal, a symbol, the embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

The Turian then stands at ease, standard military and even joins in...talk about a surprise. "Spectres bear a great burden, they are protectors of Galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense, the safety of the Galaxy is theirs to uphold."

Finally back to the Asari...I nearly went into a coma. "You are the first Human Spectre Commander Shepard, this is a proud achievement for your whole species."

"I've been ready for this since Eden Prime." I state calmly.

The Salarian Councillor nods. "We're sending you into the Traverse after Saren, he's a fugitive from justice so you are free to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him. We will provide you with any information we may find on him."

"This meeting of the Council is adjourned." The Asari finishes and their holograms flicker out of existence.

I turn to Anderson and he offers his hand, I shake it immediately. "Congratulations Commander." He offers, just before Udina ruins the moment.

"We've got a lot of work to do Shepard, you're going to need a ship, a crew, supplies." He points out, stating the obvious before the much more likable Alliance Captain steals his thunder.

"You'll get access to specialist equipment and training, you should go to the C-Sec Academy and head to the Spectre Requisitions Office." He suggests and I nod.

Udina scowls. "Anderson come with me, I'm going to need your help to set this all up." He orders and wordlessly they both turn away from and walk off...quite rude.

So...a Spectre huh? License to kill...should be fun.

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

 **Unknown Person**

I light a cigarette and breathe in the smoke, letting it burn my throat and then exhaling before tapping out some of the ash into the ashtray found on the table to my right. "Commodore Whitaker...it seems that Commander Shepard has become a Spectre, this could help our interests. Follow them in the ASV Phantom and assist them in their next objective, secure their support no matter what it takes. We need to be able to understand these Reapers and if they match our...experience." I order and the man simply stands to attention and snaps a sharp salute.

"Yes sir!" He sharply bellows before I cut the connection.

I then type into my console the demands for dossiers on the three Alliance Intelligence Agents that caught my eye, Vaeros Salvatore, Michael Kiristein and Asher Svenson...

This could turn out very well, or spell the end of us all.

* * *

 **Well guys it's been a long time but I am back again and this time with a very intense chapter, if you have enjoyed leave a review and a follow/favourite and we shall be back again soon!**

 **Fullbreaker: I wanted the first act of this story to both capture the hectic nature of events and flesh out the universe I am creating within Mass Effect, to this end that is where the extensive combat and notes come in. Thanks for the review!**

 **BrotherCaptainShepard: Thanks for the Review, I love your fic, the Batarians managed to protect their VIP but lost their data which is a massive early strategic blow in the war, perhaps not even worth protecting Ragnok for.**

 **Ghost: It makes sense that Asher would analyse the war situation and the combat is a prelude to bigger things, thanks for the review.**

 **Guest: Thank you for your review, I hope it didn't disappoint.**


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